


Welcome to the Good Life

by DarkTrappedDesire



Series: Trials of Love (Kasaya) [2]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Parody, Semi-Canonical Timeline, Varying Genres, cross-dressing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 17:12:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 98
Words: 134,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3217067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkTrappedDesire/pseuds/DarkTrappedDesire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After months of drama and effort for Kasuka and Izaya, the two have finally seen eye to eye. They've gone through a lot as it is and are finally starting to have a shot at normality. Will they get the break they both want, or will more turmoil block their path?<br/>Direct-sequel to "Lights, Camera - Izaya?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Day

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a direct-sequel to "Lights, Camera - Izaya?"  
> If you have not read it then I strongly suggest you go check it out before continuing here - there would be confusion and most likely many plot-holes if you don't.  
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy both installments of this Kasuya adventure!

_[Kasuka's POV]_

Kasuka slumped where he sat, feeling irritated after a long day of questioning from him and Izaya's director. This morning had been great; wake up in Izaya's guest room, have breakfast with him and try to help him make it - he was denied repeatedly, but that didn't bother him much - then call his driver to come pick them both up for work. Toren had seemed pretty relieved that he was okay, Kasuka did just run off from him the other day acting completely unlike himself.

And everything was just fine, until Izaya and Kasuka got onto the set and Mr. Watane spotted them with gauzes on, Izaya's around his neck and Kasuka's on his right arm, along with some small bandages on his left hand. Of course anyone would be worried if their workers walked up to them like that, but the persistent questions that followed them showing up had made nearly half a day's work gone.

The man just couldn't seem to wrap his head around it that someone had hurt both of his main stars and neither of them wanted to press charges or increase security. Again, understandable, but after an hour one would think he'd just drop it and leave it alone. Finally, the two couldn't stand it anymore and made up a lie while trying to stay away from the director and practice for the next episode.

"Mr. Watane, really, we don't need security. The guy that did this didn't even know who we were, he was drunk." Izaya coaxed, trying to get the man to believe him by smiling innocently, only getting more attention from Dong-Yul who was a couple meters away and had just showed up.

"My beloved, who did this to you!? How dare anyone lay their hands on you!" he shouted, moving towards him and tentatively reaching to try and see if 'she' was hurt anywhere else. "Tell me who did it, I'll knock them off the Earth, bury them alive- anything to make you feel safe again, I swear!" Izaya tried to back up as subtly as possible. Kasuka watched all this, trying to stop himself from pulling Izaya away from the man, not only because he hated how Dong-Yul acted towards him but he knew Izaya hated it even more. The man was too loud, too close, always too clingy and determined - at least, that was what Izaya always said when he grumbled about the other getting too close to him and trying to hold him.

To the actor's surprise, instead of Izaya telling him to go get him something to help, the same kind of excuse he'd used the last 3 times the tech manager had gotten too hyper for his tastes, Izaya went a little behind Kasuka and smiled wider.

"Actually Dong-Yul, that's not needed. Kasuka defended me well enough on his own when it happened." Izaya half-lied, glancing down at his co-stars arm to let him see for himself. The man looked at Kasuka's arm then up at his face for confirmation, getting a small nod.

"You shouldn't worry about it. I gave him a broken nose in return and a couple good bruises to make sure he learned his lesson." the actor fibbed, seeing Dong-Yul deflate while Mr. Watane looked more than pleased.

"I'm glad to hear our favorite heroine has her own body guard. I should have expected nothing less though, with how close you two have gotten while working together.." the man trailed off, looking between them expectantly. Izaya just smiled and nodded to try and make them leave faster, but Kasuka blushed slightly, realizing that to the rest of their co-workers they had already seemed like a pretty obvious couple. They'd been wrong before, but now that Izaya was giving him a shot, even without the title of dating..

_Gonna have to make sure I'm not more open than usual with him. If they start saying things about us before Izaya's ready, he might run off.._

So, he didn't comment to that, just nodding as well. "I'm glad I could help her, but now that everything's fine I think we should start getting ready for our next scene. You can imagine that, with the incident and then healing yesterday, we didn't get much practice in ourselves." he announced, seeing Mr. Watane agree quickly and herd Dong-Yul away from them.

"Yes, yes, I understand. We're going to be setting up props today and all that, so take your time!" he dismissed, leading Dong-Yul to the set so they could make sure the equipment was ready.

The two finally sighed relief and parted ways for a while, going to their own dressing rooms and relaxing. After Kasuka got over the initial headache of having to lie to his co-workers, two of - in his opinion - the most annoying ones, he moved to lay down on the couch instead. His thoughts drifted from work to Izaya and then to his brother, reminding him that he still needed to apologize for everything that happened the day before. He let out a small sigh and closed his eyes.  _I'll go over to his house after work and make sure everything's alright. I just hope he'll hear me out.._


	2. Apology

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

It had been another few hours since Izaya and Kasuka had finally gotten in some real practice. Despite what most would think, they had a lot more fun doing their job together than most others in their line of work. Sure, it was a form of income, but just getting to practice together in the privacy of their own homes or dressing rooms, it felt more like a school play would rather than a big official production.

They would ask each other if they did well, help the other when they didn't and in general have a whole lot of fun with it so that when either of them went on set they wouldn't be too nervous to do it correctly. Granted, neither of them were very nervous people to begin with. Izaya always oozed confidence once he set his mind to something and Kasuka had been doing this long enough to let the little mistakes he did slide, focusing on fixing them the second time around.

Either way, they had plenty of fun practicing together that day until they were let off from work. During all of the jokes and little conversations he'd had with Izaya he almost forgot that he was supposed to go check on Shizuo, but the second they were dismissed, he couldn't help fidgeting in his seat on the way there.

He'd never had to apologize to his brother before, at least not about something like this. Spilling his strawberry milk on the floor when they were little or accidently eating Shizuo's last pudding cup, yeah, he'd apologized for that a million times. But actually scaring his brother, let alone giving him a reason to actually hate him.. This was something Kasuka hoped he would never have to apologize for ever again.

As they pulled up in front of Shizuo's apartment building, Toren gave the actor a thumbs up and wished him luck before the ravenett got out of the car, taking deep breaths as he walked inside.  _Just don't think about it. You did something wrong and you feel sorry, that's all you have to say. That's it. Nothing to worry about. If he doesn't accept the apology then I can't change it, so don't even think about it._

He kept thinking to himself like that the entire time on his way to Shizuo's apartment, actually overjoyed that the elevator was broken since that gave him a little more time to steel his nerves before speaking with his blond sibling.

Finally, he reached Shizuo's door and hesitated before doing their secret knock, thinking it might break the tension a little before Shizuo even got there. He waited for a few moments before doing it again, thinking Shizuo either wasn't there or wasn't answering because he knew it was him, but he wouldn't give up. Kasuka knew if he didn't do this today then he would feel too awful about it to try again tomorrow and he might end up hesitating a whole week at the very least before trying again. He couldn't wait that long, it wasn't fair to Shizuo..

After what felt like an eternity, Shizuo opened the door, bags under his eyes and cigarette in his mouth as he looked down at his brother. He didn't look angry, but he also didn't look happy or relieved, so Kasuka kept his emotions to himself as well. "H-Hi, aniki. Can I come in?" Kasuka got out, looking up at him for an answer. Then, unlike what he had expected, Shizuo's arms were wrapped around him and hugging him close as he shut the door, giving him a small squeeze before letting him go again.

"I'm sorry.." Shizuo muttered, looking at him and having the expression of a kicked puppy. Kasuka blinked a couple times to understand what just happened before opening his mouth again.

"Shizuo, you don't need to apologize. I shouldn't have acted-" He was quickly cut off.

"Kasuka, I hurt you. And I hurt that damn flea after you told me you actually give a fuck about him. How am I not supposed to apologize?" Shizuo demanded, gritting his teeth a bit but not in his usual angry fashion. He quickly went over to an ash-tray and discarded his cigarette, grabbing a new one out of his pocket and lighting it.  _Those are gonna kill you, ya know.._

"I can't say that you didn't hurt Izaya. You strangled him, and I am very mad about that." Kasuka started, seeing Shizuo turn to look at him in shock, obviously expecting him to continue the "it's not your fault" card. When he was about to respond, Kasuka held his hand up. "But you didn't hurt me. I fell and just so happened to land on a broken lamp. Besides, I was having a panic attack before I even knew you were anywhere near Izaya, so lashing out at you like that when you were trying to help wasn't right... I'm sorry for scaring you, and I'm sorry for not trying to work this out with you the first time, but I did mean what I said back at my place.." the actor finished, glancing down a bit before meeting Shizuo's eyes.

The elder sibling obviously looked like he was searching for words, moving to sit on his couch and lean back, staring blankly until he looked at Kasuka again. "I remember what it was like the first time you had a panic attack.. It was a lot worse than this one, we thought you were dying and you couldn't stop crying and screaming long enough to tell us what's wrong.." the blond muttered, letting Kasuka drift towards him before settling beside the man, looking at his hands in his lap. "I had to grab you and hold you so you didn't hurt yourself on something, but this time the flea took my place." Shizuo finished, making Kasuka look up at him again.

"He didn't replace you, I wanted you there too. But you left because of what I did.." the actor sighed, jumping slightly when he heard Shizuo chuckle.

"Replace me or not, he calmed you down, didn't he? I didn't do shit... Shinra called me this morning, letting me know you were okay and everything. He told me he tried not to listen to too much of your conversation either..." the blond muttered, scratching his head before looking down at his little brother. "I refuse to stop chasing that flea out of Ikebukuro, he doesn't belong there. But he does give a shit about you too, so I'll try to fuck my aim up until he's better at running again. The little shit was so out of practice he couldn't even dodge a ladder." Shizuo announced, making Kasuka smile brightly. Behind all the cuss words and little threats, he knew Shizuo was saying sorry still and promising to at least  _try_  to get along. In his and Izaya's special way, he supposed..

"Thanks, aniki... Do you want to hang out for a while? I'm off work and everything, so if you aren't busy..." "..Yeah, I'd love to, lil' bro."


	3. Shut Up, Namie

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant sat at his desk across from another customer, smirking as he sat back and listened to their petty problem. The man said something about needing to find his daughter since she went missing with no leads, making Izaya pay attention more, but he just nodded and made smart-ass comments until they were done and he mulled it over in his head before agreeing to do what he could for an absurdly large price. His services never came very cheap, after all. Finally they left and Izaya leant forward to log onto his computer and get started, propping himself up on his elbow as he wondered why this was slowly beginning to feel more like actual work.

Before all of this he could just get an assignment, maybe up to 5 at a time and have fun with them for a whole week before getting everyone what they needed, even if not necessarily what they wanted. Now, just getting two assignments seemed like a bother to him even when one of them was interesting.

He sighed and stared at the screen before doing what he does best, asking Namie if she could get him some coffee. "Yeah, sure. If I get it for you will you quit sighing every 5 seconds?" she grumbled, going into the kitchen and coming back out with one of Izaya's favorite mugs.

"I am not sighing, my dear Namie. I'm just vocally thinking." he argued, not even looking at her. She huffed beside him and glared, probably hoping he would catch fire if she did it hard enough.

"Well, your vocal thinking is really starting to bug me, so find a way to cheer up." she demanded, going back to her own desk and organizing the information Izaya already had on another assignment.

"And just what would you suggest? Enlighten me." he teased, thinking he'd probably get something thrown at him again. He sent a smirk her way before he noticed her smirking back, which caught him a bit off guard even if he didn't show it.

"Maybe calling that partner in crime of yours over would help." Izaya blinked once before smirking wider with a laugh.

"I work alone, Namie! And before you say anything, no, you don't count." he snickered, shaking his head before working again. She obviously didn't see that as being dismissed.

"Fine, then just your partner." Namie persisted, smoothing out her black hair as Izaya glanced at her with a brow raised, trying to make it seem like he had no idea what she was talking about. She glared but kept talking. "Don't act like I'm stupid, Izaya. It's obvious! You make me clean this place at least twice a day and you really think I wouldn't notice the growing amount of food in your kitchen and the extra place set at the table the days after you tell me I'm off from work for a night? You letting me off from work at all is suspicious!" Namie finished, testily shoving one of her cabinets closed with a thud.

Izaya just stared at her for a second choosing to ignore her.  _I don't have time for this. Besides, it's none of her business if I actually have a friend.. Well, boyfriend.._

The man stopped himself from shaking his head or blushing as he got into his usual chat-rooms. Everything was slow at first, either no one was on or they were having completely useless conversations, chatting excitedly about mundane things. It bored him to death and he just sighed again, thinking that maybe Namie had a good idea once in her life.

The informant nonchalantly took out his cell-phone and sent Kasuka a quick greeting.  _Just look busy, it's not like she can tell who I'm talking to._ And it worked, at least until Kasuka sent him something particularly sassy about their director, making him crack a small smile. He kept up the conversation while he worked, going to forums instead of chats since he wouldn't keep up with both.

**[You seem in a happier mood than yesterday. Did something happen?]**

**[Yeah, I apologized to Shizuo last night after work. It went better than expected.]**

**[Oh, so the protozoan knows he did something wrong now?]**

**[Yes, he does. He apologized back and we worked things out a bit. He shouldn't be bothering you as frequently as before, if you wanted to go to Russia Sushi and stuff like that.]**

**[Wait, you got him to stop chasing me!? I know he adores you, but even that's pretty surprising.]**

**[No, he'll still chase you. But he said something about you being too slow for him..][Ya know, you staying cramped inside all the time when we aren't on set isn't good for you. If you'd like, we could go on a walk around town tomorrow?]**

Izaya read over the two texts again before blushing lightly, wondering if this would be considered a date. He bit his lip lightly before texting back.  **[Yeah, that sounds fun. I can show you the joys of human-watching.]**

**[And I can show you the joys of acting human for a few hours.]**

The informant didn't notice the proud smirk on Namie's face from the display, both of them just carrying on regular work until it was time for dinner. Namie left the building, shouting at Izaya behind her as he asked her to stay for a meal, something she thought someone would have to be crazy to accept. And after Izaya thought about it for a little bit, he asked the same question more seriously to Kasuka over the phone, smiling to himself as the other offered where to take him the next day after their walk.


	4. Keep Me Close

_ [Izaya's POV] _

_Alright, this is fine. We're going for a walk around town, that's all, I don't need to be fancy._ Izaya kept thinking it to himself as he looked in the mirror, frowning. First of all, he'd never asked if he should dress as Kobayashi or not, in case they were seen together by one of Kasuka's fans and Kobayashi's slowly growing fan-base. He personally didn't want to, he wanted to spend a whole day as himself for once, but if Kasuka expected him to act like a girl again...

"Ugh.. This is why I never bothered with friends in the first place!" Izaya huffed to himself, debating if he should ask as he grabbed his phone. He groaned softly before sending him the text, sitting down on the end of he bed as he waited for a reply.  _He's the one that chose to like me in the first place. If I look a little stupid then he can't say anything!_

Izaya finally got a message back, and glancing at it he let out a sigh of relief, his cheeks turning red. "Heiwajima, you don't have to try and make everything sound poetic." he mumbled, looking at the text again.

**[Of course not. I fell for the real you, so don't change a thing.]**

**[You're getting mushy again, Heiwajima. I might throw up rainbows the moment I see you.]**

**[I won't mind. We have a few hours together to make me forget about it.]**

When Izaya blushed deeper, he huffed and shut his phone quickly, wishing it was Kasuka in person so he could stick his tongue out at him. It was childish, yes, but it got his point across.

After he got confirmation on not needing to change, the informant went down to his living room, sitting on the couch and zoning out as he waited for a knock on his door. His thoughts never stayed in one place, just bouncing around to random topics before he glanced around the room and spotted where his lamp was still currently missing.

He wasn't mad about it being broken, it was probably the least expensive thing in the room, but the way it was broken still upset him.  _Shizu-chan really can't hold his temper for even 10 minutes, can he? ... But he did try his best to keep it together. We never have had good chemistry.._ Izaya tried to pry his thoughts away from that, still not liking that he had to have a gauze around his neck if he didn't want to bother with putting 5 ounces of make-up over the bruises that resided there.

Getting his thoughts off of Shizuo just made them go back to Kasuka. Even after having his arm shredded and going through a panic attack, Kasuka was still more concerned about him the whole time, crying just from seeing that he'd been in pain as well. It almost hurt him to think of Kasuka crying like that. The first time it hadn't been his fault. Shizuo was to blame, and he, to a very small degree, had been the second time. But knowing that someone was crying for him just didn't settle well.

_That reminds me.. Shizuo was the one to say he loved me, and those two definetly didn't talk in the week after Kasuka came crying to me the first time... When did Kasuka actually start to like me?_

He was interrupted by a knock on the door and Izaya shot up instantly, remembering that he had a date to go on. Then he looked down at himself and frowned, since he had chosen to go in his usual attire.  _Please don't look fancy, please don't look fancy._

But Izaya didn't need to worry about it, opening the door to see Kasuka in clothes that were almost more casual than usual. The actor had on a pair of regular jeans and a white button-up shirt, covered with a black hooded-vest - probably to hide his face from paparazzi if they happened to show up.

Kasuka smiled at him through the door, hands in his pockets. "How did I know that's what you would be wearing?" he chuckled, making Izaya jab at his side with a small blush.

"It's because I look naturally fabulous in anything. And you know you miss the jacket." Izaya said with a smirk, hugging his trade-mark jacket to himself as he did. Since someone on set happened to be a Dollar, they had kept staring at him when he'd had it on, making him leave it home more often so they wouldn't ask him about it. Kasuka just smiled.

"Yeah, it is still weird seeing you without it. So, you wanna get going?" the actor asked, looking a bit nervous as he gestured down the hall.

"Of course~" And so they went.

* * *

The two traveled the streets of Ikebukuro side by side for a good while, Izaya taking the chance to do what he had promised and snickering about people he thought looked funny. Not that they were ugly, they were all his lovely humans, but some of their fashion choices were a bit... Out-dated.

"How have you not seen people like this before? You said you take walks every other day, didn't you?" Izaya asked, noticing that Kasuka looked genuinely amused and surprised at all of the humans he'd pointed out so far. Kasuka glanced at him with a small shrug.

"I do go on walks a lot, but usually I'm not around here or I'm looking at my feet or something." he explained, glancing around again to see most of the people at the moment were normal. "Guess the area I walk in isn't as lively either."

"I suppose not. I do love it here because of how unique it is. It's always changing.." the informant muttered, smirking to himself like he normally would before he noticed Kasuka staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing, you just looked really content." the ravenett replied, leaving Izaya with no way to respond other than shrugging. He looked around himself, hoping he wasn't blushing, before spotting someone and holding in laughter.

"Speaking of this place always changing, this guy needs to get the memo. He wears those suspenders and bow-tie  **every. Single. Day.** " Izaya stressed, pointing to someone on the other side of the street at the bus-stop. Kasuka glanced over at him as well, letting out a scoff as he obviously tried to not laugh as well.

"Oh my.. What about the rest of it?" "He can go from business-casual to midlife-crisis, but he never takes them off." "I think this is the first time I've felt like taking someone's wardrobe and burning it.."

The two kept joking and laughing until they reached West Gate Park, taking a moment to sit next to each other at the fountain. It was comfortably silent again until Kasuka reached over to hold his hand. It wasn't unwanted, just surprising since the whole walk there they hadn't reached for each other, just staying close enough for their arms to touch as they walked instead.

Once Izaya flinched Kasuka pulled back quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, you were holding my sleeve for a while so I thought.."

"Really, I was?" the informant muttered, glad it was dark outside by that time so Kasuka couldn't see him blushing.  _When did I do that?_ "Well, I didn't mean to flinch, so if you wanna try again then go ahead." Izaya added, turning his head away as he could already feel the other smiling beside him.

He waited for the other to grab his hand again and when nothing happened, he was surprised that he felt so disappointed. Just as he was about to turn his head, Kasuka's arm reached around him to the other side, grabbing his other hand instead and intertwining their fingers. The action made it so Izaya had to sit closer to him and he opened his mouth to snap at him before he was cut off. "Thanks for this Izaya, I've really had a good time tonight." That shut the informant up quickly, still not looking at him as he reluctantly leaned into his side.

"Yeah.. I'm having a good time too." he admitted, ignoring the close proximity as he took advantage of how warm the other was.

* * *

Kasuka and Izaya walked up the stairs of the ramen shop they'd planned to eat at, Izaya trying not to smirk at the faces of the people they passed to get there. "Shouldn't we get in line?" Izaya asked softly, not looking at Kasuka and just watching their still intertwined hands.

"No, we have a reservation for 8. It's 7:55, so they can't complain." Kasuka reasoned ahead of him, finally reaching the top of the stairs and guiding him inside ahead of him since it was beginning to get very cold outside.

"I thought ramen shops didn't take reservations." he muttered, glancing at the menus a waiter was carrying so he could have an idea of where they were.  _Mutekiya.._  He didn't recognize the place from the outside but there was a line waiting all the way to another shop behind them so he assumed it was good.

"Well, any place will take reservations if you're on TV.." the actor muttered with a small shrug. Izaya thought about it for a second before nodding, thinking it made sense. He also tried to stop himself from smiling softly since he knew Kasuka didn't like throwing around that he was famous or had money at all, probably only telling them who he was so that there was no chance of Izaya getting upset about the wait.

They were quickly seated at the counter where they could see their food being made and Izaya watched with interest after they ordered, usually just ordering things to go or as delivery so he didn't have to deal with something unnecessary. Now, he couldn't stop watching the chef work, shifting back in his seat quickly when some flames came up and nearly falling off. Kasuka caught him by the arm though and kept him up, smirking for once as he helped the informant back into his seat. "Don't look at me like that.." Izaya huffed, cracking apart his chopsticks as his food was placed in front of him.

"But you looked like a kid in a candy-store. How am I not supposed to watch you?" Kasuka mused, cracking his own apart as well as he began eating.  _Now I know why it infuriates Shizu-chan so much when I smirk at him..._ Izaya ignored the thought as his stomach rumbled, he hadn't eaten since noon because he knew he'd be going somewhere with Kasuka. He started digging into his own bowl, taking a large bite and pausing suddenly as it got in his mouth, gaining Kasuka's attention. "What's wrong?"

He slurped up the rest of the noodles and ate it properly before speaking, glancing at Kasuka with a wide smile. "This tastes amazing!" he gushed, hearing the chef call out a 'thank you' from not too far away, causing them both to chuckle. "Do you want to try some?" Izaya asked a moment later, realizing they had different orders. Kasuka gave him a weird look though and he shrunk into his jacket a bit. "What?"

"I guess I forgot to tell you.. I'm a pescetarian, so I can't eat yours. It has beef in it." Kasuka explained. Izaya sat up again at that, making a small hum of recognition.

"Guess I didn't notice. Sorry about that.." the informant muttered, poking at his meal before taking a smaller bite. Kasuka nudged him before holding his hand again, making Izaya glad he was left-handed.

"Hey, don't look so down about it. You can try my order instead, if you'd like." he offered back, holding up a bit for Izaya to take.

"Don't feed me, stupid Heiwajima!" "But we're on a date, I wanna do couple stuff." "You're 'couple stuff' is more like married stuff..." "Married people are just couples who needed a firmer title. Besides, I've seen plenty of teens do it too." "Fine.. But if you make me say 'ahh~', you're getting a few more cuts in your arm."


	5. Really, Aniki?

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

"So, um... About Izaya-"  _Fuckin' again..?_  "Look, it's not anything bad about him this time!" Shizuo swore, standing beside him as Kasuka was getting them both something to eat while they played video games. He must have seen the blank glare that Kasuka had thrown him the moment he said Izaya's name.

The actor just let out a sigh. "What is it this time, aniki?" he muttered, moving things around in front of him as he tried to find the sweets. He didn't keep a lot of them, just some to have for when Shizuo came over. The blond behind him shifted, obviously still uncomfortable with talking about the man casually. It had been a week since Kasuka and Izaya's date, which he wished he could relive over and over again, and he had mentioned it to his brother not too long afterwards since he was so unusually happy.

Obviously he wasn't as excited as Kasuka was, but he still had a certain right to know. "Well, uh, I was just wonderin', um..." Shizuo babbled, stopping himself with a small cough before Kasuka finally gave up searching and turned to look at him blankly.

"Shizuo, you've known me since I was born, there is nothing that you can possibly say to me that will kill you." Kasuka said bluntly, seeing Shizuo nod before he opened his mouth to talk, shutting it again.

"You sure there's nothing?" "Absolutely nothing, aniki." "Okay, well um.. I was just wondering.. How far you ever planned on going with Izaya."

The two stared at each other for a few moments, both of them gauging the other's attitudes. "Aniki, you know how I feel about marriage. I don't plan on it but if Izaya says anything then it's a definite yes." Kasuka replied, still not getting why his sibling was acting so odd about it.

Well, he did know why, it was the bane of his existence that they were talking about him putting a ring on, but still. Shizuo stared at him for a minute longer, scratching the back of his neck. "Okay, I have to ask differently then. Um.. You guys went on a date, and you told me that a couple times before that you guys slept at each other's houses so I was wondering if anything had, um..." he trailed off, reaching for a cigarette quickly to distract himself.

Kasuka stared at him as he put the hints together, the most embarrassed expression he could make coming onto his face as he moved to punch Shizuo in the arm. "Holy fuck, I am not having the birds and bees talk with you! I'm 19!" the younger sibling screeched, leaving the kitchen quickly to get away from the other, not even wanting to give him the chance to talk.

"It doesn't matter how old you are, I'm your older brother and I need to keep you safe!" "Safe from what!? My boyfriend!?" "YES! In case you haven't noticed, he's older than you!" "What the fuck does that have to do anything!?" "I just don't want him to hurt you, in that way or any way."

Kasuka stared at him for another moment, mouth completely aghast. "Oh my god, don't ever speak to me about this again... And why the fuck am I on bottom!?"

"Well.. I dunno, I just kinda thought.." "Thought what!?" "... I didn't think anything! I just need to know you know what to fuckin do!"

"Shizuo, I've had at least 3 girlfriends before. I know what to do, leave me alone." "You've never had a boyfriend before!"

"Shizuo, I'm fine, and I really don't want to have this conversation. Besides, you aren't gay; even if I had thought that far there is no way for you to help me." "... I'm trying to be a good big brother. I could at least try to help..." "Aniki, shut up and go put Soul Caliber in."

* * *

_[Izaya's POV]_

_I don't get it, why is he avoiding me?_ Izaya thought to himself, watching Kasuka lock himself in his dressing room for the third time that day. He would come out for almost an hour when called out by Watane, then run back in and refuse to come out, saying something about needing to focus on his lines. It only got worse whenever Izaya went over to talk to him.

The ravenett could spot him a mile away and the moment his amber eyes caught that Izaya was getting closer, he ran off again with some stupid excuse. "Sorry, I need to use the restroom." "My brother's calling." "I need to ask the screen writer about something."

It had only started that morning, but it still infuriated the informant. He finally gave up chasing after him, sitting in his dressing room with his arms crossed as he waited for something to do. With no co-star at the moment he didn't feel much like practicing his next scene.

Dong-Yul decided to pop in instead, smiling at him brightly and plopping onto the couch beside him. "Darling, what's wrong? I hate seeing you so upset." the man asked, actually seeming not as hyper that day since he'd been asked to help carry all of the heavier equipment over to another part of the set. No one could blame him for being a little tired.

Izaya glanced at him, putting up half a glare before he huffed again, sinking lower in his seat. "Kasuka's ignoring me.." he muttered, not looking at him since he knew he'd either get over exaggerated pity or just complete bullshit from him. Dong-Yul made a small hum beside him, obviously not hearing something he'd expected, before he slid his arm around Izaya's shoulders, which was quickly thrown off.

"Well, when did he start ignoring you?" the man asked, leaning forward to see Izaya's face instead. The informant glanced at him, actually surprised he wasn't being suffocated in another one of the man's "hugs" by now.

"This morning.." "Then I'm sure it's fine. Nothing happened between the two of you to cause it, right?"

Izaya thought it over for a second, nothing coming to mind since they hadn't even spoken the day before. Izaya had been busy with assignments and Kasuka said he needed a day to recuperate after one of their recording days involved him doing some 'parkour' - which Izaya personally thought looked stupid but it did give him a chance to watch Kasuka work up an actual sweat for once - and despite doing what both of them thought was perfect, the director made him do it over and over again so they could grab a better shot.

Izaya gave a small sigh and shook his head, looking up at him as the other beamed. "Then don't worry about it! Guys get moody like girls sometimes, so just wait for it to pass like we do." Dong-Yul encouraged, reaching out to ruffle Izaya's hair before leaping over and giving him a back-breaking hug. "I gotta go keep helping them move shit, but I hope you feel better!" he laughed, standing and giving an overly dramatic bow to 'Kobayashi' before dashing out with his usual energy.

Izaya sat up where he was as the man left, straightening out his hair again and making sure he hadn't actually broken anything, feeling a bit sore in his sides from the tight grip still. "Guess he is good for something.. I'll just wait like he said. If Kasuka doesn't snap out of it then I can yell at him like Namie does me." Izaya decided, smirking to himself at the thought before shutting his door and beginning to practice like he should of been, thinking he can get in some more effective practice tomorrow.


	6. Gimme A Hint!

_ [Izaya's POV] _

"Hey, what happened to you yesterday? You were acting really weird." Izaya pointed out, stretching his arms above him contently as he laid on his work space's couch. The informant had planned on asking it the moment they saw each other that morning, but when Kasuka came up to him and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, thankfully concealed in Izaya's dressing room, he couldn't be mad about it, letting it slide for a bit longer.

The two had already said their good-mornings and shared a hug before asking if the other had slept well and all that. They usually did all of it by text once they woke up but Mr. Watane was going to be having them work a long day again, so they were asked to come into work a whole two hours before the usual time. Them and most other people who had showed up on time looked like walking zombies, but they were still cheerful about it.

Kasuka glanced at him and shrugged, looking a little guilty. "It was nothing, I just had something on my mind. Sorry for not talking to you earlier.. I missed you though." the actor admitted, looking over at his boyfriend with a small blush. Izaya smacked him on the arm lightly but muttered that he'd missed him too, still having to slowly get used to how affectionate the other was. He'd already known that Kasuka liked to show very subtle affection towards others, like in the conversations they would share and when he was teasing his brother about something. Yes, he'd listened to them talking before, but it's not his fault that Kasuka and Shizuo had conversations with him still on the line and waiting! He's naturally curious, and he doubted he'd die from it anyways.

But recently he noticed that once Izaya had said yes to them becoming a couple, Kasuka was being a bit more than subtle about how much he liked him. Almost every moment they were alone he'd reach for his hand, or lean in to give him a peck on the cheek.. They still hadn't shared an actual kiss yet, but Izaya did notice that the other looked completely content to not go any further than the little pecks he gave in the first place.

Which reminded him - Izaya had also noticed that Kasuka was very... indecisive, which was the only word that the informant could use besides 'unpredictable'. One moment he would be trying to wrap his arm around Izaya's shoulders, then the next he would be hesitant just to hold his hand, which was at the very least irritating. It was also irritating that the man treated him like he was fragile a lot of the time, or like he was a sleeping bear and if you took a step the wrong way, he'd wake up.  _I just don't get it..._

Izaya looked down at their intertwined fingers and thought for another moment before leaning onto Kasuka's shoulder, resting his head there contently and not moving, just waiting to see what Kasuka did. Just like he'd expected, Kasuka leaned his head over onto Izaya's as well, giving the man's hand a small squeeze. Nothing more.

Just as Kasuka began saying something, though, there was a knock on the door and the scooted apart again, Kasuka pretending to read the book he'd brought and Izaya getting up to answer the door, since it was his dressing room.

"Good morning, Kobayashi-kun~ I brought you coffee! And I made it just like you asked before, do you want to try it?" Dong-Yul asked excitedly, holding a steaming mug of coffee out to him. Izaya gave a polite smile to him and took a sip, surprised that the man actually got it right, since he'd been giving directions to the other on how to make it since he got there. He almost wanted to dismiss him and say it's wrong again, but after being given advice, he thought he'd give him a break.

"Ki-san, do you drink coffee?" "No, I don't. Why?" "You definetly won't ever need any." Izaya said, taking another sip to show he liked it and seeing Dong-Yul perk up, just before he shut the door in his face again.

"The guy doesn't make half-bad coffee, once he actually listens." the informant hummed, going back to Kasuka's side and settling down again. He didn't reach for Kasuka's hand, just not being the type to initiate that sort of thing, and he waited patiently for Kasuka to do it. Izaya waited longer than expected, already having half the cup gone by the time the other reached for him.  _It must be in your DNA to irritate me, after all._

* * *

_[Kasuka's POV]_

Kasuka laid face down on the couch, relaxing after a long day at work but still feeling tense, his thoughts on Izaya. Even after being accepted and going on a wonderful date and now dating for a little over half a month, he still didn't know how to act. He knew how to feel, every moment near the other made him happy, but now it also made him nervous. He hadn't felt it before since he didn't have much to lose. He'd had a co-worker and a best friend, something that, if fucked up, was pretty easy to fix.

But now, since they were dating, something he'd only thought would happen in his dreams, he didn't know what to do.  _If I act exactly like I did before then he'll think I'm not interested, and if I act like he's mine now and that there's nothing to change that, I'll be way to clingy and he'll hate it and then he'll dump me and he won't say "yes" a second frickin' time! I know that..._

The actor let out a loud sigh into the pillow underneath his head, only lifting his head so he could get fresher air and not get dizzy. "Fuuck.. I finally get something I want and everything has to be complicated." he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as he kept wondering what to do the next time he saw Izaya. The man hadn't seemed so opposed to him taking charge when they were on a date, so he could ask him on another one and see how it goes, but there would still be the question of which way Izaya wanted to be treated.

That was where Kasuka had the most problems at the moment, figuring Izaya out. Sure, he could figure out when Izaya was lying or teasing him or actually upset, but figuring out if he liked something or not was quite difficult. Izaya, on the subject on almost anything, was very complex. He didn't think about things one certain way and if he ever did, then Kasuka hadn't discovered that part yet.

The man reacted the same way to everything he did affection-wise. Kasuka reaches out to hold his hand, Izaya pouts and blushes. Kasuka moves to hold him tightly, Izaya pouts and blushes. Kasuka gives him a dozen kisses on the cheek because he's so fuckin' cute and his skin is so soft and when he blushes he wants to do it again, Izaya pouts and blushes and maybe jabs him in the side. Speaking of which, he was convinced that a very large, dark bruise was beginning to form on each of his sides because of the jabbing..

But, to say that Izaya didn't give him much to go on was a really, really large understatement.

Kasuka let out another loud sigh as he buried his face back in the pillow, not caring if he probably sounded sick and dying or depressed. "I could just ask him, but how stupid would  **that**  make me look... Uggh.."


	7. Just A Kiss

_ [Izaya's POV] _

_Alright, I can do this. He always does things like this, so it can't be hard._ The informant thought to himself as he walked into Kasuka's home, smiling at the man as he was led in.

He'd decided two days ago, after much thinking and debating of his own feelings, that he would try to do something himself. Izaya was tired of Kasuka being so hesitant and indecisive, they had been dating for over half a month and they hadn't even had a real kiss yet! That was almost unheard of, unless both of the party happened to be asexual,  _maybe;_ Izaya was still pretty convinced that no matter what the circumstances, a couple would have shared a kiss by now.

And if Kasuka wasn't going to do it, then he would have to. Somehow... In case no one guessed it, Izaya wasn't used to being on the giving end of anything nice. The most he'd given the man was comfort and a couple small gifts here and there since he wanted to let the other know he appreciated them dating at all. Despite all of the tough exterior and cynical interior, he did really like Kasuka in a romantic way, maybe even love him, but for both of their sakes he wouldn't say anything about that thought. It was barely in him to hold Kasuka's hand, he would never tell the man those three words, even if he did feel that way at some point.

But that was also the problem, wasn't it? He didn't even know how to start getting what he wanted from the other, except maybe teasing him enough to make him do it himself. But then, Kasuka wasn't a normal human either. If he teased him enough, the man might not look at him for a week and have the complete opposite effect of what Izaya wanted after all..  _Stupid, stupid Heiwajimas and your unpredictable bullshit._

The two were currently sitting on the couch, Kasuka's arm around Izaya and keeping them both close, already a step toward where Izaya wanted to be.  _Good, this might be easier than expected.. What to do now.._

The two stayed like that for a little bit, just chatting about things going on and making little jokes, the usual. Then he got an idea, pressing a little closer to Kasuka. "Kasu-kun, I'm cold.." he muttered, glancing up at him enough to see that the man was blushing brightly from the nickname. He rarely used it, usually just when he asked Kasuka to get him something, but with how much Kasuka obviously liked it he was willing to use it more often.

"I-I'll get you a blanket, hold on." his boyfriend stuttered, standing up and going to grab him one, not noticing that Izaya had reached out to grab his shirt then punched the pillow next to him when his attempt failed.  _Ugh.._ Izaya waited patiently for him to come back, giving him a smile once he sat down beside him again, blanket now draped over him as Kasuka pulled him close. The informant didn't give him much of a chance to protest when he suddenly turned and curled up, his legs over Kasuka's lap and blocking him from standing again. He just gave Kasuka an innocent smile when they glanced at each other. "Thank you Kasu-kun, but body warmth is a lot more effective~"

"R-Right." was all Kasuka replied, arm still wrapped around Izaya's waist surprisingly. Izaya had almost expected him to stop once he got embarrassed, but he had luck on his side today. The informant curled up a bit more, actually loving how warm his boyfriend was, even if he wasn't freezing or anything. He rested his head on Kasuka's chest and let out a small hum when he heard his heartbeat, quick and loud which was probably Izaya's own fault. He couldn't stop himself from smirking though, proud that he not only could make such an emotionless person smile and laugh and get angry, but he could get him like this as well.

Izaya blushed a bit from thinking that way but it left soon, letting him look up at Kasuka with an innocent pout. "Kasuka, my hands are still cold." he whined, watching Kasuka nod before holding his hand, both of Izaya's tightly keeping it to his chest. He was sure his was going a bit faster as well, excited that his plan might work, but if Kasuka noticed then he didn't say anything, just running his thumb over the back of his boyfriend's hand. It was calming and Izaya almost forgot about continuing for a while before Kasuka started speaking.

"Hey Izaya.. you are happy that we're together, right?" the ravenett asked tentatively, looking away in shame before meeting Izaya's gaze, looking honestly worried.

"Of course I am. If I wasn't happy then I would tell you." Izaya answered without thinking, surprising himself with how guilty he felt after saying it.  _But I already didn't tell him that I want something. I didn't lie but..._

"I know you would, I was just wondering." Kasuka laughed softly, though it didn't sound happy or sad. Izaya watched him look away again and he frowned, tightening his grip on Kasuka's hand.

"Kasu-kun.." he muttered, gaining the other man's attention again. Once he was facing him, Izaya sat up a bit, leaning in and pressing their lips together without hesitation, closing his eyes when he saw Kasuka's get impossibly wide. It wasn't a fiery kiss or anything extreme, just them sharing a tender moment. It almost tore Izaya apart though when Kasuka barely pressed back. He was just about to pull away and tell him to leave when Kasuka suddenly had both arms around him, not letting him lean away and one hand moving up to the back of Izaya's neck, resting there as he finally put some passion into the kiss. What he expected to last for a couple seconds went on for minutes, moving their lips together and holding onto the other before they would take a breath and do it again.

They finally stopped after a couple more kisses, pulling apart and relaxing as Izaya stayed put in Kasuka's lap and the actor rested his head on top of the informant's. After another moment of silence, Kasuka let out a giddy laugh, the largest smile Izaya had ever seen on his face. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." he admitted, making Izaya grin and curl up more, hiding the blush that was on his cheeks and probably reaching his ears.

"We're a couple now, dumbass. Do it whenever you want and quit treating me like a stranger.." the ravenett muttered, listening to Kasuka's heartbeat again before his chin was pulled up and another kiss was placed on his lips.

"Sorry for acting like that, I won't do it again." he promised, smiling against his lips before they shared more little kisses, falling asleep on the couch together just like that.


	8. The Good Life

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

The actor sat in his dressing room, texting his boyfriend random thoughts as he knew the other couldn't answer, having to try on more outfits that were fitted for him. Most of them would be for the show but Kasuka knew at least one of them would be for Izaya's first signing. It was right near the end of August and everyone was excited for the quarter-way point in their series being reached, the episode would be put out on the 1st of next month and then a couple days after that, Izaya would be attending a signing with him in Tokyo.

That would take them a couple days and Kasuka hoped he could convince his boss to let them room together, or at least keep quiet about it if he was allowed to make his own reservations somewhere. But what Kasuka was excited for was his plan for their next date. He already felt like it had been too long since their last one and they needed another, but Kasuka wanted it to be special so he kept on waiting until he remembered a certain event happening on the other side of Japan. The Kishiwada Danjiri festival.

It was one of the most famous festivals in Japan, and even if it was far, if they took a plane to get there it would only be an hour away. Kasuka obviously wasn't sure how much Izaya would love the idea, but he could at least try and impress him by showing him he'd thought about him. So, he kept on waiting patiently for Izaya to show up at his door and say he was done, then he could ask him about it. He wanted to keep it a surprise for where they were going, but just asking him on a little vacation should work. With all of the hustle and bustle they were about to go through, he'd imagine Izaya would never say 'no' to the idea of relaxing for two or more days with him.

Another half an hour later, there was a knock on his door and when he answered it, a very tired looking Izaya was on the other side. "Not only did I have two assistants sticking me with needles, I had them teasing me about being 'so famous already' every time my phone went off." the man huffed, sending a small glare at him. Kasuka knew he wasn't mad though, the two of them had been in scarily good moods since they had finally kissed, sharing more of them whenever they got the chance and being closer to each other than usual. Izaya had even surprised the actor by reaching for his hand once, something he hadn't ever done before.

Kasuka just gave him a smile and stepped aside so he could come in, the couple sitting down on the couch after the actor had grabbed their scripts. "So, did you try on an outfit for the signing?" he asked, knowing that if he hadn't their director would expect him to wear one of his own outfits again, which likely meant the two of them going shopping again. Izaya nodded lightly as he went through his phone, a smile and small chuckles coming from him as he kept going through the 20 messages Kasuka had sent him earlier.

"Really? You want to go on another date?" Izaya finally asked as he got to the most recent one, not laughing now as he looked over to Kasuka.

"Yeah, of course I do. It's been almost 2 whole weeks since our last one, and I really had a good time." Kasuka admitted, scratching the back of his neck lightly before lifting his arm to put it around Izaya's shoulders. The ravenett got the hint, leaning into his side and letting himself be cuddled as they talked. "So, I was just wondering if you would be free for a weekend, maybe a little more?" Kasuka asked softly, not knowing if he had worded it right.

When Izaya looked up at him his worries went away, the smile on his face showing he was excited. "If you're off from work, then so am I. Let's do it." he agreed, tilting his head up a bit more as he waited patiently, making Kasuka smile. After their first kiss, Izaya had started being a bit more open with when he wanted one just as much as Kasuka was more open with giving them, now not having to be afraid. Sure, he was still afraid of them getting caught, them being comfortable together and being comfortable with the media were two different things, but no one had said anything about that yet.

Kasuka leaned down and pressed their lips together, holding in a groan when someone knocked on his door again. Dong-Yul's voice came from the other side to tell them that Kobayashi was needed for one more fitting, since the assistants had missed an outfit when moving everything. Kasuka and Izaya shared a look before the informant stood, leaning down to get one last kiss before leaving for his dressing room again.

Kasuka slid down where he sat once he was gone, running a hand through his hair as he contemplated how much he was beginning to hate that fucking Korean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note, the word 'Korean' is not being used in an offensive way, it's just one of my descriptive words for Dong-Yul, since he is in fact Korean.  
> It's like when I call them both 'the ravenett' or Kasuka as 'the actor', etc.


	9. Don't Be Afraid

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

"You sure you're fine? I'm not sure where the maker is, but I know there's coffee in here someplace." Kasuka offered, glancing around the inside of his limo to see someplace a coffee maker would be. He knew this thing had a lot of features in it, but for all the time he'd spent inside he'd never bothered with a lot of them. And he was only concerned now since they were driving up to Tokyo where they would be staying for 3 days and even though Izaya kept telling him he was fine, the actor could tell his boyfriend was nervous.

"Kasuka, really. I don't need anything, if I do need anything then it's for you to stop fidgeting over me and sit still." Izaya replied, glancing at him with a warm smile, making Kasuka blush and nod, sitting back where he was and wrapping his arm around Izaya's waist. Toren glanced at them though the little window and shook his head, already being used to the mushy behavior.

"How long have you two been dating again? I think you could put my parents to shame." he called from the front, making the both of them just press closer together.

"Sorry Toren, but you should know how we feel. I saw that lady you were talking to the other day, exchanging gifts, she seemed  _pretty_ happy to see you~" Kasuka teased, for once not getting a reply, he assumed he'd hit a nail on the head.

"Well... I do admit, she brightens up the day, but you stick to your girl, hear me?" Toren finally called back, and Kasuka tried to peak through the window to see if he was blushing or not. It was almost as hard to get Toren to crack a smile as it used to be with Kasuka.

"No worries there. She's all I could ever want." Kasuka muttered, glancing down at Izaya who was being lulled to sleep by the motion of the car and the warmth of the body beside him. The actor could tell from how he'd looked when they arrived that Izaya got even less sleep than usual, his eyes seeming a bit dark and his movements a little slow. He'd tried not to worry about it, but ended up fussing over him anyway, having nothing to do other than that for nearly 20 minutes.

The limbo slowed down and Kasuka watched out the window as they got into another very busy part of Tokyo, watching all the people absently and wondering if any of them would look as silly as the ones Izaya had pointed out to him before. None of them seemed that way so far though, so he went back to Izaya, running his hand through the black hair while he slept with a small smile on his face.

Toren called from up front again, letting them know they had reached their hotel. Thankfully, Mr. Watane had let them pick their own arrangements for the trip in case they had a favorite spot or just had bad experiences with one of the others, letting the two of them room together again. Kasuka shook his boyfriend lightly before telling him he needed to wake up. "C'mon Izaya, we're here. Me and Toren will get the bags while you check in, alright?" the actor asked, getting a groggy nod in response.

"Alright, I can do that.." Izaya mumbled, moving forward a little bit before stretching like a cat, making his shirt ride up so Kasuka could see his skin. The actor couldn't help it, pressing against his back and running his hands up Izaya's sides. Within seconds Izaya shuddered and shot up, fully awake now. "R-Right, I'll go check in then!" he coughed in complete embarrassment, hopping out of the car and heading inside.

Kasuka just watched in amusement as he hopped out as well, grabbing the bags and trying to keep his head down so no one would recognize him.

* * *

_[Izaya's POV]_

Izaya looked out at the large crowd of people, currently peaking out from behind a curtain that divided the tent into sections of; Go here for signing, Go back for your break. He kept staring at the large mass of people, wondering how many of them were Dollars and knew what he looked like, at least partially. It was also just the shear amount that made him nervous, always loving people but never fitting in with them made it quite hard to be in the middle of a large, rambunctious crowd since he was small. And now that all of them would be looking at him, he didn't know if he could really do this.

The informant pulled back, standing just inside the curtain and trying to get his mind off it, focusing instead on the fact that not ALL of them were waiting for him - they were waiting for Kasuka too. And a couple of the other side characters that were getting famous or more famous off of this show as well, narrowing it down to only about a 6th of the crowd wanting nothing but to speak with him.  _That makes it a bit better..._

Just as he was about to go out in the back and get some fresh air, Kasuka showed up again. "Hey, we'll be going out there in about 10 minutes. Do you feel okay?" he asked softly, having worried for him ever since this morning. It was almost like Kasuka could read his mind sometimes, something he never thought a human would be able to do.  _I also never expected for a human to make me cherish them, but life's full of surprises, ne?_

Izaya didn't know how to answer him, just shrugging softly as he glanced at the curtain again. He felt Kasuka hand squeeze his for a moment, making him look at him again. The hand didn't stay long, both of them still being quiet about their relationship, but the informant knew Kasuka didn't want to stop holding him so he didn't mind either. "I was nervous at my first signing too. Just look straight at the person in front of you, and not passed them. When you're sitting the crowd looks a lot smaller." Kasuka advised, making Izaya nod in determination before pressing closer to him still. "You want some Ootoro before we go out there?" Kasuka tried a second time, knowing his favorite treat always got to him.

The two had went to breakfast together that morning since they had two free hours between when they arrived and when this started, but Izaya could still fit in a little Ootoro. Maybe a lot of it... He fuckin' loved Ootoro, okay?

Izaya and Kasuka went over to the table as the informant calmed himself down, finally getting the signal that it was time to start. Before Izaya could start walking, Kasuka stopped him though, taking responsibility for making him smile and seeing if he had anything in his teeth. "You're good. And if you get nervous during the signing, you can always come back here or scoot closer to me, alright? We're sitting right next to each other."

_Okay, I can do this.. I am the great Izaya Orihara, I can do this! Humans will not get the better of me!_

And with that, he went out to greet the public.


	10. Goodmorning, Sleepyhead

_ [Izaya's POV] _

Everything went well the first day of signing, all the fans being mostly polite and just a bit too excited, nothing he couldn't handle. A couple times people asked him for pictures with them instead of a signed photo-copy, which he didn't exactly mind. He felt a bit bad when the people managing them said it would cost extra and a petite girl didn't have 5 more dollars to get one, looking like a kicked puppy, but Izaya was impressed when one of the couples further back in line moved up to give her the money, having enough for themselves without it.

_Ah, my lovely humans.. Even with all the bad things in the world there are still people doing little things like that. Sadly, if everyone was so generous the world would be completely boring._

The rest of the day was uneventful but just having that many people around him and all shouting at once had drained him, enough that when Kasuka and Izaya got back to their room the informant had flopped down on the bed and didn't even notice when he'd fallen asleep. He'd just woken up two hours later with Kasuka sitting next to him, reading some book he'd brought and running his hand through Izaya's hair. The man was so groggy still he didn't even want to be move.. But he pulled himself up and into the shower before coming back and cuddling into Kasuka's side, only letting him play with his hair again before knocking out for a second time.

He'd woken up again at around 5 in the morning, feeling rested and happy for the first time in a while. Usually he had an awful time getting to sleep. He'd wake up every two hours and, even if he didn't need much sleep to run, whenever he got even one hour less than usual for whatever reason it took a while to stop grumbling about it being too early for shit.  _Guess all I need for a full night sleep is Kasuka._ Izaya smiled to himself and looked around, noticing that Kasuka wasn't sleeping with him in the same bed but over in his own, obviously having moved there after helping Izaya, who was now tucked under the covers unlike when he'd fallen asleep the night before.

The informant wondered what he should do, glancing at the clock and realizing they didn't have anything to do until 11, leaving a lot of options for them. He sighed and thought about it for a moment before glancing at Kasuka again, never getting to see what he slept like before. They always used different rooms when staying over at each other's houses and even when they fell asleep on the couch or something, Izaya was either the first to go or too comfortable to look around. Now that he had his chance, he lifted himself up a bit to see over the man's shoulder, snickering softly at what he saw.

Unlike how Izaya had slept, not moving a muscle and probably appearing dead, Kasuka looked like he'd thrashed around for a bit before sleeping deeply, the covers half off of him and cascading onto the floor, leaving his sweatpants-clad legs uncovered. And his hair was messy, definetly going to need to be brushed and maybe even conditioned before he got it to calm down and one of his arms was cast over his eyes sloppy, since he was facing the windows and seemed to be able to tell in his sleep. It all made Izaya grin before the informant stood up, wondering if he was a light sleeper.

He moved closer to him and bit his lip before poking Kasuka's shoulder, barely getting a muscle to move. He did it again and muttered a 'good morning' before smirking again and going to the other side of the bed, crawling over to his side and whisking the rest of the blanket over them both. Izaya didn't expect for him to move at all but he froze when Kasuka free arm moved over and crushed him into his chest, acting like Izaya was a teddy bear with no need for oxygen. "Kasu-kun, that isn't comfortable..." he grumbled, shifting and moving to try and loosen the others grip, only doing so enough that he could rest against him and breath again. No luck on getting him to let go though...

_Looks like I'm stuck then._ Izaya resigned, letting out a small sigh and closing his eyes again, smiling to himself as he waited patiently for Kasuka to wake up.

* * *

The informant must have fallen asleep again at some point because this time he opened his eyes at 7, blinking lightly before looking up and seeing Kasuka with a shocked expression, obviously just having woken up to the man in his arms. They stared at each other for a minute before Izaya decided to defuse the tension, nuzzling his face into Kasuka's chest and humming. "Good morning, sleepy head."

That snapped him out of it pretty quickly, both arms now moving to hold the ravenett close. "Good morning.. When did you get up?" Kasuka asked softly, making Izaya pick up his head to look at the side-table between their beds. "I woke up around 5, so it's been two hours." he muttered to himself, also answering his boyfriend's question. He dropped his head back down and smirked up at the actor. "Why didn't you tell me you have some of your brother's strength in you? You almost killed me while you were asleep." Izaya teased, seeing another shocked look go onto his face.

"I did what?" "Don't worry about it, Kasu-kun. You did it in a very cute way." the informant comforted, cuddling into him again when the blanket moved and cold air came in, making him shiver unhappily.

Kasuka took notice and moved the blanket against them again, wrapping Izaya up to make sure he wasn't cold. "So, we have like 4 hours until we need to work, right?" he asked, seeing Izaya nod lightly as they kept cuddling. "Alright, so we have an hour or two to eat, an hour to get ready. What will we do with just an hour to ourselves?" Kasuka hummed, looking down at Izaya with a grin that made the informant's cheeks almost match his eyes.

"You already know the answer to that, stupid Heiwajima..." Izaya muttered, hiding his face before Kasuka guided his chin up, pressing kisses to his lips and over his cheeks before they heard both of their stomachs rumble, Kasuka's being noticeably smaller than Izaya's. "Oh yeah, I slept through dinner..." the informant mumbled, now an even brighter red at ruining the moment.

"It's fine, I'm hungry too. C'mon let's go check out what they have for breakfast first. I think there was something about a waffle-bar on the website." "Waffles~!"

* * *

The two finished up breakfast together, Kasuka being right about the waffle-bar, and sharing small kisses between trips to get more food. They finally went back up to their room, not wanting to get ready yet but also not wanting to go back to sleep, the mood from before vanishing as well. Kasuka and Izaya shared another kiss before doing their usual routine as well as they could in the hotel room, moving around each other and just enjoying the other's company while they got things done.

Izaya had already taken another shower and gotten half dressed, currently just wearing some jeans and a t-shirt so he didn't mess up his actual outfit, and was now trying to dry his hair while he watched Kasuka once again do yoga, this time more interested in his boyfriend than what he was doing. And despite what most people think, he had a very good imagination. The informant actually had to stop himself from thinking before he gave himself a problem, turning away from the man and inspecting the book Kasuka had been reading earlier to find out what it was about, inspecting it and skimming through it until Kasuka was done and announced that he'd be using the shower. "Alright." Izaya hummed, putting the book down and glancing at the bathroom door before smacking himself on the forehead repeatedly. "Stupid, fucking, pervert..."


	11. Ugh..

_ [Izaya's POV] _

It was the second day of signing and only one hour passed the time they began. Already though, Izaya wished he could go back to their hotel. Apparently there had been a delay in the weirdos because for some reason, almost every person that came up to him that day kept screaming his ears off, fangirling/boying, and having a jolly good time trying to touch him whenever he handed them their purchase. He faked a smile the whole time and sighed in relief when someone moderately normal came up to him.

It was some guy asking for a picture with him so he could give it to his girlfriend that was stuck in college.  _Sweet._ Izaya mused to himself as he agreed, standing up and letting the guy come around the table to get his picture, posing with him. Izaya smiled brightly, not expecting a thing when the hand that was on his waist went somewhere it shouldn't have, making him give a very manly (in Izaya's opinion) yelp and hop away from him. The guy looked like he expected it and maybe a slap to the face, but he didn't get one. No, he got a full-un punch in the nose from an angry informant who was seething with a red face beside him before he said he was going on break and disappearing behind the curtain.

* * *

_[Kasuka's POV]_

The actor had seen the whole thing, already being suspicious of the guy when he'd put his hand on Izaya's waist instead of on his shoulder like most other fans did. Especially if the guy had a 'girlfriend' he would be giving the picture to. Kasuka cringed when he heard the yelp behind him, dropping the picture he'd been holding as he looked back to see Izaya looking completely mortified and punching the man in the face, who was quickly taken away by security. He bit his lip before he forced a smile and handed the woman in front of him her picture, excusing himself to the restroom before trotting behind the curtain to find his boyfriend.

There wasn't a lot of space for everyone, let alone for someone to hide, but this was Izaya. Izaya could blend in anywhere if he tried hard enough and it was making it awfully hard to spot him among the people that were helping set everything up and keep things in order. He finally spotted him near the back with his hand covering his face and Kasuka rushed over, setting a hand on the man's shoulder. Luckily Izaya wasn't crying, if he was then Kasuka would be hunting the bastard down, but he did look miserable when he uncovered his face to see who was beside him.

"Karuha, are you alright?" he asked, only using his fake name because of the small quarters. Anyone could probably hear them so, despite wanting to comfort the man properly, they had to act. Izaya shook his head quickly, his face still red and a frown on his face.

"No, why would I be okay after that guy grabbed my ass? It's sickening.." Izaya muttered, surprising Kasuka before he sat beside him, looping an arm around him loosely to see if it would help.

"I'm sorry I forgot to warn you about people like that.. Everyone was so nice yesterday-" "I know, Kasuka, I understand. I thought everyone would be like that too.. I already know humans well enough, I should have expected this without a warning." the informant admitted, sighing lightly as he relaxed in his seat. Kasuka gave him a small squeeze on the arm to get his attention and the ravenett leaned into him, glancing up at his boyfriend.

"I'm sure after that stunt they'll tell everyone no pictures allowed, so please don't worry about it too much. Even if they don't you could always say no, it's still up to you. And after this we don't have anymore signing to do, it's just us in Tokyo for a whole day, alright?" Kasuka whispered, watching Izaya nod lightly before he looked up at him again.

"Yeah, a whole day together. It sounds nice." Izaya agreed, glancing at the curtains before standing up. "We should get out there before they yell for us. The good fans still deserve to get what they came for." the informant said with a small smile. Kasuka nodded and stood up as well, getting back to their booth and sitting down, noticing that Izaya seemed to have calmed down a lot already, seeming confident again. He didn't smirk to himself about it but he did feel a sense of pride from being able to comfort the man, getting back to work as he kept an eye on his boyfriend.

* * *

The two finished the signing, only staying late for maybe half an hour to finish up the quickly dwindling line of fans waiting for them. They went back to the hotel not too long after that, Kasuka coddling the man the entire way to make him forget about earlier. Sure the same thing had happened to him, on a lot more occasions than he was comfortable with, but he'd never looked so horrified and awful about it as Izaya had. He almost wanted to ask him about it but dismissed the whole idea, not wanting for the other to get upset again thinking about it.

Instead, he just joked around like they normally did, Kasuka holding Izaya's hand tightly after a whole day of not being able to and when Izaya wasn't expecting it, he picked him up and spun him around the room once until he was laughing his head off. That may also have been from Kasuka tickling him, but hey, he wanted to see the man with a pure smile again.

After an hour the two settled down, Kasuka draping himself over his boyfriend for his own amusement as Izaya tried to get at least a little informant work done while they were there and had nothing better to do. "Kasukaaa, you're crushing me!" Izaya huffed underneath him, trying to roll him off and utterly failing, making Kasuka grin.

"Oh, please. I'm 8 more pounds than you, there's no way I could crush you." "It feels like you're crushing me." "It feels to me that you're a wonderful pillow." "Do you want your pillow to headbutt you off of him?" "You would never." *thunk* "Ooooww.. Fine, fine, fine, I'll get off. Now you have to let me feed you again when we go to dinner." "Stupid Heiwajima~"


	12. Phobias Aren't Fun

_ [Izaya's POV] _

Izaya and Kasuka sat in the limo as they were driven to their destination, Izaya still having no idea where they were going. He knew Kasuka got tickets of some kind for them, 'casually' asking him questions to get information he probably needed to do it, but he hadn't looked up what he'd been doing. Yes, the informant could find out very quickly what they were going to do or at least make an educated guess from anything he could find on a hacked data base, but he surprised himself with the succeeding effort he'd made to keep this like a normal relationship.

Not a relationship between an actor and an information broker, a normal relationship like people would have when dating through school. Probably like dating through college, because they both had way too much money for it to be regular school...  _Moving on._  Kasuka had taken to teaching him mundane things and making him feel more human than he believed himself to be, after all, giving him the excuse that it would let him connect with his humans better - so why not try and give back by not sneaking around his boyfriend?

All he knew was that he had a suitcase in the back along with Kasuka's and they were going to be spending the weekend together somewhere with no work permitted for either of them. He'd brought his laptop anyway of course, but he could just tell him it was to play games if something happened to one of their plans.

He was currently laying down on the seats with his head in Kasuka's lap, half asleep as his boyfriend stroked his cheek with his thumb. The informant could tell he was staring down at him but he didn't want to open his eyes and blush, so instead he simply waited for their ride to slow down before he groaned and sat up, looking out the window. What he saw made him go pale.

* * *

_[Kasuka's POV]_

Kasuka and Toren got the bags as usual, letting Izaya go wait by the doors as he was still waking up. At least that's what Kasuka thought as he saw the man stumble once, making him catch him by the arm and suggest he sit down. Kasuka said farewell to his friend before going up to Izaya and letting him know they could just get their tickets inside and go through security. The airport looked slow that day, at least slow enough for them to not wait the entire two hours in line...

"Alright." Izaya mumbled, standing up and just heading inside by himself, making Kasuka blink since he didn't wait for him like he usually did. He followed him in quickly and looked around the station to get there tickets, taking a step toward it before looking around for Izaya.

"Izaya, we go over here." Kasuka called softly, noticing his boyfriend wandering and it seemed to grab the man's attention, Kasuka watching the man drift back towards him. He set down their bags and touched Izaya's arm. "Hey, do you feel alright?" he muttered, not wanting to drag attention towards them both. Izaya glanced up at him before nodding and looking away from him, acting like he was inspecting the airport.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired still. They have Starbucks in here, right?" Izaya asked, looking at him again. Kasuka frowned from him avoiding the question but just moved to hold his hand, leading him towards the ticket booths.

"Yeah, they do. We can get some coffee together in a minute." he replied, going through the process of getting what they needed and having their bags checked in with a worryingly quiet boyfriend beside him, the man looking awfully tense every time he glanced at him again. The minute they walked away from the counter he couldn't stand it anymore, squeezing the man's hand and guiding him away from the crowd before looking at him.

"Izaya, tell me what's wrong." "Nothing's wrong, I'm just-" "You aren't tired, I've seen you tired. You're adorable when you're tired, not a train wreck. Tell me what's wrong."

Kasuka stared at him as the other faltered, shifting from foot to foot as he didn't make eye contact. "Izaya.." the ravenett persisted, just wanting to help him. He didn't understand what was so wrong with letting him know what was bothering him when it was so obvious already, it wasn't like he would be telling him for shits and giggles or something. "I can't help you if you don't let me." he added finally, slowly letting go of Izaya's hand before the informant grabbed it again, pressing closer to him and leaning on him heavily as he hid his face in Kasuka's shoulder.

"I'm fine, I'll be fine. I just don't.. I don't like flying, that's all. You don't have to worry about it." Izaya admitted, making Kasuka wrap his arms around him tightly, not caring about the judgmental looks from passersby.

"I'm sorry about not telling you, I wanted it to be a surprise..." Kasuka muttered, now feeling awful that he was forcing Izaya onto a plane. It's not like he would have done it if he'd known, but the topic had never even come up before with all places that they wanted or needed to go to in walking distance or easy to get to by car.  _I should have at least asked..._ "If you really don't want to fly we don't have to, I can think of something else and call Toren to pick us-"

"N-no! I'm fine, really! I want to go.." Izaya interrupted, looking up at him this time. He still looked pale and tense but he knew that if Izaya wanted to go on their date as planned then he would force himself, even without Kasuka asking him to.  _There really is no stopping him, huh?_

"Alright.. But if you don't feel well or you decide you want to go home, then just say so. We have plenty of time before take-off." "I know.. Can we go get that coffee now?"

Kasuka smiled lightly from Izaya's straight-forwardness, it was always cute to him and it didn't change at all, so - knowing that it would also calm down the man's nerves - he went around the airport with him and bought him whatever treat he wanted, trying his best to not make his boyfriend think of actual flying until they were in line to get on the plane.

"I changed my mind, I want to go home." Izaya whined next to him, trying to plant himself where he stood as he gripped Kasuka's arm, both of them waiting next to a number so they could board.

"Are you sure?" Kasuka asked lightly, already having expected this when he'd seen Izaya look at a clock a little while before and shudder. The ruby eyed man looked up at him and opened his mouth to speak before glancing at the floor again, shifting where he stood.

"I want to go on our date. You planned it just for me.." Izaya mumbled to himself, making Kasuka smile a bit before he watched the internal battle going on beside him. "I can do this. I've been through worse." Izaya said with determination, standing up straight again before their section was called, walking behind Kasuka and giving his hand an almost breaking grip. They had no problem getting to their seats and getting settled, only having one carry-on that Kasuka brought probably filled with snacks and a game system or two for the hour of boredom ahead of them.

The two sat down together and Kasuka immediately closed the window beside him, thinking it wouldn't help his boyfriend in the least to see the ground move away from them as they took off later. For the entire period of people boarding the plane Izaya did exceptionally well, looking like he'd calmed down a bit and was calming himself even further by inspecting the humans walking by them in the isle, snickering every so often from something that Kasuka didn't even notice.

The ravenett just watched his Izaya the whole time instead, wanting to make sure he really was alright even if they now didn't have the option of backing out. The light and 'ding' telling them to put on their seat-belts showed up, Izaya tensing immediately and buckling up beside him as the plane started moving around the run way. Kasuka offered his arm to the other, letting him use another death-grip on him all he liked as they took off, leading to an hour of the actor being nearly glued to his boyfriend and Izaya trying not to make a sound every time there was turbulence.


	13. Let's Get Fluffy

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

"So, why are you so afraid of planes?" Kasuka finally asked when they were in the cab to get to their hotel. It was dark outside now since he'd gotten a late flight. He knew most people would take the night before a festival to get to bed early, especially for those who were going to be setting up stands in the early hours, so it was his best choice to keep their date a surprise until the last moment. So far, it was working. Nothing just laying out on the street screamed festival except every few times they stopped there would be a place still open and selling something traditional to wear for the event, also every so often there were carts tucked away on the sides for when they would be pulled around tomorrow.

With Izaya's head resting heavily on his arm though, he didn't worry about the man seeing them. "Why do you ask now? I've been cowering against you since before we got ON the plane.." the informant mumbled, eyes mostly closed as, after a particularly hard patch of turbulence that lasted for a whole quarter of the flight began, the man had been in a state somewhere between passing out and still trying to keep himself composed. It was almost like he was a mummy but at least he could still hold a conversation with him when he was like that. He'd tried to distract him a bit by showing him the video games he'd brought, thinking it worked when Izaya kept mumbling little words of 'what the fuck is that?' every time he found a new Pokemon.

"Because if I asked you on the plane and got you thinking of 'why?', then you could have been even more scared than before. That wouldn't have helped you at all." Kasuka pointed out softly, brushing a bit of Izaya's bangs out of his face before relaxing informant just made a sound of agreement before it was quiet again, leading the actor to believe he fell asleep before he suddenly started talking again.

"I was always scared of flying for some reason, it just doesn't feel natural, but another reason would be when I was little I would watch these American movies. I think it was called  _Final Destination_? The whole thing shows a lot of very... conventional way to die, the very first one showed and repeated being that the plane explodes and rips apart and..." Izaya shuttered heavily, frowning beside him. "And yeah, I don't like flying." he finished off lamely, obviously just trying to push it out of his mind now. The only reason Kasuka didn't pull him into his lap was because they were in a cab where they needed to stay belted in, also that the driver didn't look particularly like the open-minded type in the first place. He wouldn't push his limits.

"I see. Well, you won't have to worry about it for two days at least. And if you'd like we can just skip the plane back and go on a train or two. We could stop at all the places along the way to Tokyo, like a road-trip but on tracks." Kasuka suggested, liking the sound of it and wondering why that didn't cross his mind first. Probably because with all the work they had this week it would have taken too long to get here and they wouldn't have enjoyed the actual remains of the festival. Izaya shifted behind him and nodded lightly, smiling again.

"That sounds nice. If the train gets crowded we can people-watch again, too." he hummed, slowly sounding more like he was falling asleep on him. Kasuka rolled his eyes lightly and waited for them to pull up to the hotel, both of them getting out of the cab, getting their stuff and soon being able to flop onto their beds. Well, bed. Izaya had dropped onto the bed closest to the door and Kasuka just didn't feel like going over to his own yet, so he dropped his things on the floor and cuddled up to Izaya's back, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him as they relaxed. He didn't expect for the man to fall asleep so quickly like that but when he heard ever so soft snoring, he knew he couldn't leave. One of his arms was under the man and tucked under his neck, making it almost impossible for Kasuka to leave without disturbing him again.

The actor sighed softly with a grin before settling and draping the sides of the comforter over them. "Good night."

* * *

The next morning the both of them woke up late, almost noon, and Kasuka blamed it on how comfortable Izaya was sleeping against him and both of them acting as the other's heater. The two of them were groggy as they blinked open their eyes, noticing that the smell of food was already coming from somewhere and it was probably what woke them up in the first place.

Knowing that it was street food, Kasuka was already excited to go down and try some and try out a couple games on the side of that as well. Izaya on the other hand, not knowing what they were still here for, kept grabbing his arm and making him stay in bed beside him, turning around even to wrap one of his legs over the ravenett's. "Izaya, we can't sleep the day away you know. We'll be up all night." Kasuka chuckled,hearing a soft whine come from the other before Kasuka rolled his eyes again and stood up, still being hindered by the man.

"But you're waaarm.. Just a little longer?" "No, Izaya. C'mon, we have to get dressed and go find something to eat, aren't you hungry?" "No, I'm sleepy." "You won't be soon."

Kasuka dislodged Izaya's hands from the waist of his shirt and went to the other side of the bed, picking up his boyfriend and carrying him out onto the veranda, then settling him on the railing so he could look down at the street. Once they were out there the food smelled even better and it was easy to tell that people were all excited for this event as well, chatter and laughter and general business in the street below.

Izaya opened his eyes again, having closed them the moment he was picked up, before turning a bit to look out at the street, taking a minute to process all that he was looking at. Kasuka waited patiently for a reaction, hoping deeply that Izaya didn't think this was a stupid idea, and he was pleasantly surprised with Izaya's lips meeting his soon, the man obviously smiling against him. "I love it, Kasuka~" he mumbled against him before giving him another kiss.


	14. Festival Fun

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

The beginning of their day was pretty tame, most of the good festival events happening later. They walked around the street that their hotel was on and asked direction to the castle so they could go there the next day, Kasuka feeling glad that he'd gotten a hotel fairly close to it. On the sides of the streets were vendors everywhere, little trinkets that someone had carved catching his eye before Izaya spotted something to eat, both of them tugging on the other accidentally before laughing.

There was a whole bunch of treats that they found neither had ever tried before - fried squid, Izaya had never had Takoyaki, Kasuka had never had Taiyaki, etc - making them, admittedly, full almost constantly until nighttime hit. Sure, Izaya wasn't one for sweets, but he would still eat a small portion before letting Kasuka finish it, just to stay in the spirit was his excuse. Then on most other streets - it seemed that their own was mostly food and snacks in between the perpendicular streets - were games to be played. Most of them were childish, honestly, but Izaya seemed to light up at the idea of playing a couple and making Kasuka play with him.

They found a couple traditional ones, like scooping for a goldfish, which Izaya casually won just because of his scarily steady hands. Kasuka almost got one but it ended up slipping through at the last minute. The ruby-eyed man looked almost depressed at the fact that he couldn't keep the fish that would have been his prize, simply because they couldn't take 3 fish along with them on any sort of normal transport, at least not safely. But Kasuka made a point to find a charm for one of Izaya's phones of a shockingly similar looking fish so that he wouldn't be too upset. To his own pride, it worked.

Another game that they found was lottery, and though Kasuka thought his boyfriend would easily beat him at this one too, it seemed that the other had a lot more skill than luck. Izaya had already tried 3 times with all of his strings being attached to nothing, and when Kasuka tried he actually won a mask that Izaya had been looking at in a nearby store, even if a bit smaller than the one they could buy. To say he got another kiss for giving it to him was an understatement.

Kasuka kept trying to pry Izaya away from the games eventually, since it was getting near midnight and the two would still be there another day. He wanted the man to have something new to do the second day if the castle didn't take as long as planned, but every time he tried to get him back to the hotel there was a pout thrown at him and Kasuka relented saying "One more." for about the 5th time until Izaya finally consented to going back, spending the entire time throwing glances at prizes that he could be winning at that very moment.

The actor tried not to give in again and they soon made it to the hotel, stretching once they reached their room. Izaya flopped onto the bed, looking up at the mask that Kasuka won him and giggling to himself before glancing over at Kasuka who was watching him in amusement from the other bed. He couldn't help it, he was overjoyed that he could make the other look so happy and bubbly and see him get happy when he did something well and pout when something didn't go his way. For a while after he personally met the man, the same thing had always been able to cheer him up, even when something upset him. They were alike that way, never showing people the real side of them because they didn't need to see it - it wouldn't benefit Kasuka or Izaya to let them either, so there was no true point to putting down their masks. But they'd both been so open with each other, it was odd to think they ever had one on.

Izaya interrupted his deep thinking when he suddenly got up and moved over to the same bed as Kasuka, sitting in his lap and shifting to curl up on him again, just like the first time they kissed. "I thought you were going to put your phone charm on once we got back here." Kasuka mused, wrapping an arm around him and resting his cheek on Izaya's hair contently.

"I was going to, but now I want to sit with you. And I wanted to thank you for all of this, Kasuka... I haven't been to a festival since I was a kid, let alone since I was able to act like one.. It means a lot." Izaya mumbled against his chest, obviously blushing again though the actor didn't point it out. Instead Kasuka just let out a hum, rubbing Izaya's back lightly to give his hands something to do.

"You don't have to thank me, Izaya. I haven't been to one since I was almost 10, too, so I know how you feel. I wanted to do this for a while and I thought you would be the perfect person to go with.. I was certainly right, you've been adorable since you woke up today." Kasuka chuckled, earning a small whack to the head from his boyfriend. At least his sides didn't pay this time. He rubbed his head with a small smile. "But really, I can't think of anyone else I would rather be with right now, experiencing this."

The room was silent for a few minutes before Izaya began snickering softly, tilting his head up to look at him. "Since when did I start liking this mushy shit you do?" he mumbled, earning a peck on the lips from the ravenett he was laying on.

"Since you started to become a little more human and stopped locking yourself in that palace of yours." Kasuka admitted, gazing down at him still. That seemed to get a reaction from him, eyes closing and a small, knowing smile on the ruby-eyed informant's pale face.

"You should know better than that, Kasuka. A God doesn't become human over night or over eons, you've simply gotten closer to being my equal." Kasuka laughed.

"So, am I no longer human either?"

Izaya was quiet again for another moment before peeking up at him through his bangs. "Maybe, maybe not. You could just be a very blessed human, maybe an angel. You are definetly not a God yet.. But you also aren't a monster." the man murmured, trailing off after that and allowing Kasuka to roll onto his side, having Izaya curl against his front instead. The rest of the night was spent in silence as Izaya fell asleep against him and Kasuka watched him for a short time, just admiring him before falling asleep as well.


	15. Alpacas!

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The man blinked slowly as he woke up, trying to figure out why the warmth that he'd curled up to last night was currently sprawled out against his back instead. It hadn't been enough to wake him before but with Kasuka continuously shifting as Izaya had found out he does, it progressively got him to open his eyes.

The ravenett sighed softly and shifted before proceeding to roll over, eyes going from half-lidded to wide in confusion when he was face to face with two fluffy stuffed animals that hadn't been there before. Now, it's not like they were creepy. They were adorable little alpacas in pastel colors! But when you expect to see a certain someones face and then turn to see them both  _staring at you_... Not as welcomed.

Izaya stared back at them for a moment before one of them moved from Kasuka breathing deeply, making him look passed them at his boyfriend. He jabbed him once in the side to wake him up, grinning to himself as the effect was immediate, a loud groan escaping Kasuka before he rolled to be facing the informant once more. "Good morning." Kasuka mumbled, looking a lot more tired than expected.

"Kasu-kun, where the heck did these come from?" Izaya asked, propping himself up on his elbows as he looked at them again, picking up the green one and holding it in front of him with a small smile. The informant knew they were kinda girly, if not very girly, so he never got one but they did always look adorable in the spam emails he got, some of them with little top hats or bow-ties just adding to the cuteness. Kasuka made a small hum beside him like he didn't know what he was talking about until he opened his eyes fully once, smiling a bit before falling half asleep again.

"I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, so I went out for a walk." he started, obviously trying his best to not sound slurred or drunk while talking, rubbing his eyes. "I saw you looking at a really big one, so I thought I could get it for you but then when I got there someone had already won it. I tired myself out trying to get these two for you instead."

Izaya couldn't stop himself from hiding his face in the one he was holding so that Kasuka didn't open his eyes and see the huge smile on his face, never thinking that someone would really take away time from their own benefit to get him something like that. And not just one thing, but two! The informant looked over at him again to give Kasuka a peck on the cheek before shifting to pick up the second one, a slightly smaller purple one with a silver base, unlike the green one with a white base. "How long did it take you to get these?" he asked curiously, knowing that the game to win them was rigged. It was the one where you throw balls at empty sake bottles and knock them over.

Kasuka let out a tired laugh, giving up on opening his eyes anymore than they would currently go and just looking up at his boyfriend. "Probably way too long. But it's worth it." he said simply, giving him a lop-sided smile before pulling him closer and nuzzling his face into Izaya's neck. "That said, 'm really tired..." the actor trailed off. Izaya could already feel the other man's breath evening out and he pouted, wanting him to be as awake as he was, but giving him a break since he did lose sleep just for him.

"Stupid Heiwajima... I thought you were the one who said we can't sleep the day away?" Izaya mumbled, still smiling to himself as he looked over his gifts and entertained himself with the question of where to hide them, definetly not wanting Namie of all people to walk into his room and stumble upon them - just another thing to add to the list of things Namie could never know, let alone guess about him without him firing her and possibly having her on a hit-list. The two stayed like that for a while, Izaya lost in thought while he was used as a teddy bear again, the man beside him sleeping soundly.

It wasn't until an hour later that Izaya stood up to move away from the man, hopping into the shower at 6:45 and coming back out wrapped in a towel not too long after, having forgotten to bring new clothes with him to the bathroom. He peaked out to see Kasuka still sleeping, having grumpily replaced Izaya with the two plushies he'd gotten him. Grumpily because in his sleep he looked like he was frowning at someone. The informant just chuckled to himself softly before going over to his suitcase and searching for something comfortable to wear, since they would be walking to the castle that day and probably exploring it a lot more than just praying somewhere and leaving. The thought of praying anywhere just out of tradition didn't interest him but if he was asked then he would drawl through it, at least being able to spend time with Kasuka still. That was the whole point of this, a nice long date that doubled as vacation for them~

The informant pulled out his clothes and stood up to head to the bathroom again before spotting two bundles on the unused bed in their room, also something that hadn't been there yesterday. He glanced at Kasuka before setting down his clothes and picking up one of the black bundles, untying the string and unrolling the fabric to find it was a men's yukata, making Izaya blink. It was black with very little design to it and a red sash, but he smiled to himself as he turned it over in his hands.  _Well, there is two of them.. He can't get mad if I just try it on. And lucky me, we're almost the same size~_

And with that, Izaya grabbed his clothes and the new yukata, glancing at Kasuka again before trotting into the bathroom and slipping it on.  _I look amazing~ Not new, but still._ Izaya turned around in the mirror and couldn't stop grinning to himself, looking himself over again before he wished he'd brought his phone with him. Then he could get one good picture of him in it before re-tying it and putting it back like nothing had happened.  _Well.. I guess I could just buy one like it for myself once we get home. I still want to wear it to an actual festival though.._

Before he could think anymore the door suddenly opened, making him jump. Kasuka still looked half asleep as he looked inside but his eyes widened when he registered that Izaya was in front of him, making the informant inch back to where he was partially hidden behind the door. "H-Hi, Kasu-kun~ Good morning." he muttered, shifting where he stood and glancing at his feet before there were arms wrapped around him.

"I'm glad you like it. I knew you'd look beautiful~" Kasuka murmured against him, making Izaya's cheeks turn bright red before he was jabbed in the side twice, just for good measure. The informant stepped back out into their room after he saw Kasuka crumple from the little stabs, making him feel a bit better about feeling guilty then embarrassed in such a short amount of time.

"I already knew I look good in it, just be grateful I'm keeping it." Izaya called to him, crossing his arms as he sat on the now empty bed and tried to stop looking so damn happy about all the lovely gifts.


	16. Stop The Press

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The two walked down the street holding hands once more, on their way to the castle so they could see what there was to see. For now they ignored the large abundance of food that was still calling out to them and just stayed at each other's side as they drew closer to it, seeing countless mobile shrines along the way, making them wonder why people went all the way to the castle to pray in the first place.  _I imagine the scenery is nice though, so that may be why.. Still not a whole lot of purpose though._  he mused to himself, looking around at the people stopping the carts and putting their coins in with withdrawn interest.

They were lovely humans but really, he never understood a lot of customs that existed from them. As they finally made it inside the main gates he smiled, seeing a countless group of people all crammed together in front of him. While he did want to grimace from knowing they would both be shoved around in the process of getting through this crowd, looking around at all the different humans peaked his interest again, his eyes darting around the second one of his subjects became boring.

Kasuka didn't seem to mind all of his fluttering attention either, still just gripping his hand and throwing glances at him as they walked, probably to make sure he didn't smack right into a person or pole, and didn't trip on something to smash to the floor. The informant finally stopped glancing around once they made it to the middle of the yard, standing around the edge of it so they weren't completely caught up in the frey when they didn't want to be. For a minute he thought Kasuka was surveying the people like he was, he was slowly forcing Kasuka into the habit because the informant had such a knack for pointing out people that could leave the man in stitches if he wasn't so reserved. But when he looked at him, he noticed the man was just staring at him with a small smile.

Izaya blushed a bit before sitting on the edge of a planter, raised high enough to act like a bench. "I thought you would want to be over in line so we can give our blessings." he mused, honestly surprised that Kasuka hadn't even made an effort to go towards the shrines they'd seen, let alone the main one so close to them. Kasuka shrugged lightly before settling beside him and glancing at the line, looking about as disinterested as Izaya felt about the idea.

"I already know your opinion on religion, so I'm not going to force you in line with me. I'm pretty sure if there was some higher power, he or she wouldn't want something half-assed just because of social norms." Kasuka admitted, glancing at him with a warm grin before looking at a large group of school girls all happily and loudly giggling as they waited in line, each with a coin to donate. "Besides, as much as everyone seems to think this is fun, I've never seen the point." Izaya blinked in surprise at that, just realizing that he'd never formally asked what Kasuka's standings on religion were. The informant had always just said that he was a God and should be praised, and whether Kasuka believed in anything or not, he just went along with it, jokingly bowing and complimenting Izaya when prompted.

"How do you mean?" he asked, leaning on his side lightly and listening. Kasuka glanced at him like he was surprised the other ravenett even asked, but kept smiling. He gave a small shrug.

"Well, I dunno if there are kami or not.. If there are then they did a wonderful job making this place. But, uh.. I just think having to go somewhere to pay your respects is pretty dumb. If you believe in them and praise them and look up to them, I think a god would know that - whether your standing over there in line or not." he answered simply, looking embarrassed at his own explanation. Izaya looked at him for another moment before nodding lightly and looking out at the people in front of them, leaning his head on Kasuka's shoulder.

"That does make sense... Sadly, I'm the best this world has at the moment. Maybe the next God will have better ESP, ne?" Izaya chuckled, looking up to see Kasuka shaking his head again in amusement.

"The next one will still be nowhere as good though. You're too special to ever replace." Kasuka murmured before giving him a peck on the cheek, smirking and standing up when Izaya's face lit up brightly. He opened his mouth to snap at the man for being so mushy but he was interrupted when a group of girls ran up to them, practically shoving Izaya away from his boyfriend as they swarmed him. He panicked for a moment, not knowing what they wanted before he remembered just how famous Kasuka was around Japan and probably outside of it. It was a mystery to him how the man hadn't been picked out before this.

But now he had no way of reaching his boyfriend without shouting over a crowd and he frowned slightly, thinking that wouldn't even do any good other than get the girls attention on him and have them either try to kill him for being so close with Kasuka or ask who the hell he was and have some kind of cover blown for them. The two hadn't even come out as a 'straight' couple to their co-workers yet, and not as a regular couple to their friends and family yet, Shizuo not included - there was no way Izaya was going to throw the truth of their beloved Yuuhei being gay at them.

So he watched in irritation as Kasuka was continuously swarmed by his fans, the ones here probably calling their friends to get them to come as well, seeing as it continued to get more crowded around their little area by the minute. The actor threw him sorry glances whenever he could as he tried to get through with what his fans wanted as quickly as he could, but they just kept coming and after half an hour of patiently waiting, Izaya couldn't simply stand there any longer with the mass of people shifting towards him once they had no other places to crowd.

Izaya sighed softly and looked around before escaping the shrine area by scooting around the edge of the yard until he reached the main entrance, getting out all the way out to the street and taking a deep breath as he walked around for a moment. Once he was away from the crowds, he searched through the folds of his yukata - he was still wearing the one Kasuka had gotten him and Kasuka was currently wearing a similar one, though his just had simple stripes along it with a green sash instead - until he found his phone, pulling it out and sending Kasuka a text.

**[I'll meet you back in the hotel. Be safe.]**

And with that, he left on his own back towards where they were staying, now feeling a lot smaller as he walked down the unfamiliar streets on his lonesome.

* * *

Izaya had reached their hotel with no problems, remembering quite well which turns they had made to reach the castle, and got to the lobby before he realized he didn't want to go up to their room alone. He frowned to himself before searching around and being admitted into one of their mineral baths, curling up in the hot water and calming himself down for a while. While he wished he could do it with Kasuka instead of by himself, it did help a bit and he only got out once it was advised that being in any longer could be bad for him.

He slipped back into his yukata and debated if he should go back yet. A look at the local news that was playing on one of the screens in the lobby told him no, he did not want to go back, since Kasuka was still held up at the festival, now with a camera shoved in front of his face for a small report on what he thought of the event and castle. Having seen Kasuka's truly happy expression before, it now almost bugged him when he saw the fake smiles he would give for the camera or when he was completely neutral, only shreds of emotions being in his eyes like when Izaya had first met him.

The informant stood there for a moment just watching his boyfriend push through the unwanted interview and sighed before traveling to the elevator anyway, not having anything he wanted to do on his own somewhere. It wasn't like they were avoiding being caught, it would be almost impossible if they had, but it still would have been nice if they'd been left alone for just a little while longer. Now  _his_  Kasuka had been taken from him with no one's damn permission...

Izaya frowned before getting into their room and curling up where he laid on their bed, hoping Kasuka would be back soon so they could just block out the world again.


	17. Are You Mad?

_**Warning! This chapter contains sexual content. Please look for the print bolded like this to know when to stop scrolling and skip to the next chapter.** _

* * *

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

_Oh god.. I'm in trouble._

Kasuka just knew it. It was a feeling in his gut that he couldn't get rid of as he walked into his hotel almost 2 and a half hours after he and Izaya got split up because of his work. He'd tried multiple times to get away from them and had only gotten the chance to get out of the castle's yard before his fans followed him and he had to take some awful detour to not have them realize which hotel he was staying in.

He dragged his feet over to the elevator and sighed, pressing the button as he hoped Izaya hadn't brought his flick-blade along with him for the trip. There wasn't a need for it, but Kasuka had noticed that Izaya was quite the creature of habit. If he could have the blade in his hand constantly with no issues, he'd do it. Kasuka shuddered as the doors opened once more and he got to his hotel room, knocking on the door lightly before going in with his key card.

...

_Well, there's no blade next to my head yet._  The actor traveled in a couple steps further as he closed the door, looking into their bedroom to see Izaya curled up on top of the blankets and facing away from him.  _That could be a good or a bad sign..._

Kasuka went closer and peaked around to try and see if he was asleep or not. The man's eyes were closed and his breathing was even, but if he'd been laying there for a while already that probably wouldn't matter. "Izaya..?" he whispered, just double-checking as he took another couple steps. The only reaction he'd gotten was Izaya burying his face into the pillow underneath him and not looking at him.  _Okay, bad sign._

"Izaya, I'm really sorry." "Mm." "I missed you so much.." "Mm." "I was thinking about you the entire time. I wish they hadn't-" "Mm." "Are you even listening?" "..."

Kasuka let out a small groan, though he didn't know if he felt guilty or annoyed. "Izaya, I'm serious. Are you mad at me?" The ravenett didn't look up but he curled up further where he was laying.

"I dunno.." Izaya mumbled into the pillow, making Kasuka let out a sigh.  _At least he actually said something._

"Then are you upset?" Kasuka tried again, settling onto the bed beside him and resting a hand on his shoulder. There was a pause before a shrug and Kasuka frowned lightly. "Izaya, please, yes or no." There was another pause, longer this time, and then the informant let out a small nod.

"I don't like all of those people around you. I couldn't do anything." Izaya whispered, eyes opening lightly though he kept his ruby gaze on the pillows. The hand on his boyfriend's shoulder gave a small squeeze and Kasuka reached out with his free hand to try and turn his head towards him. The hand was quickly smacked away.

The couple sat in silence for a moment before Kasuka had to ask. "Do you blame me for them interrupting us?" "Of course not!"

Kasuka actually jumped from the sudden, loud answer and looked down at Izaya, catching his eyes before the informant looked away again, hair falling to cover his eyes. "I don't blame you, I just don't know who I can.. I usually always have an answer to that one."

Kasuka nodded to that and let him continue thinking before he gave a small smile. "You can blame society. That's what I do. If they were taught better to control themselves, then they wouldn't have been so rude about it - they might not even have come up to us at all." he improvised, thinking of various ways he could make Izaya feel better or at least not be mad at him for something he couldn't control.

He hadn't wanted to be interrupted either; Kasuka'd been just about to take Izaya to the park with him since he'd heard it was beautiful, but then fan-girls all but attacked him and... He'd already been warned two too many times by his manager that if he shunned media attention it would be bad for his career and if he did something to screw up, he'd have to find someone else to handle all of his planning.  _I can only plan personal things apparently..._

Izaya just huffed for a second before uncurling himself, looking too tired to be upset anymore. "I guess.. I mean, there must be something wrong if I'm an informant and think they don't know the meaning of privacy, right?" the ravenett chuckled, giving a tiny smile up at the actor, who was beaming now.

"You couldn't be more right." Kasuka agreed, bending down and giving him a peck on the lips before there were arms around his neck telling him to stay. He didn't even hesitate, doing what the man wanted and twisting to lay down beside him on the bed and rest a hand on his hips, the other moving to press his torso closer. They stayed locked together for a few moments before pulling away for breath, smiling lightly since they both knew things were okay now. How could anyone be mad when their wonderful, beautiful boyfriend was kissing the world away?

"I did miss you. I wanted to keep you there and show them I was happily taken~" Kasuka murmured, getting a giggle in response. Izaya nuzzled into his neck a bit before speaking.

"I wanted to shove it in their faces too. Guess two great minds think alike." "I suppose so.. So, I'm hoping we're both thinking of sharing another kiss." Kasuka suggested, blushing lightly as he heard Izaya whine, probably from him blushing too, but nonetheless they pulled together again and shared a kiss. Then another. And maybe a couple more... And another after Kasuka rolled lightly so he was laying on his boyfriend, held up on his arms so he didn't crush the skinny male underneath him.

"Ya know, you fit there perfectly~" Kasuka commented, expecting another jab to the side so surely that he was caught off guard when it didn't come. He pressed another kiss to Izaya's lips as he opened his eyes again, gazing down at his boyfriend and almost dying right there as his heart picked up. To say Izaya looked beautiful now was an understatement; he looked downright enchanting.

The man's cheeks were flushed and his hair was a bit tussled, probably from rolling around on the bed before Kasuka even got there, and when he trailed his eyes down to see the yukata he was wearing riding up his thighs and sliding open, away from his exposed neck he wasn't sure he be able to handle himself. Sure, he could control his emotions at least 10 times better than the next person, but his emotions and what he craved were completely separate. He was a fully functioning, healthy adult, how else would he be expected to act when he saw all of this and already knew it was his?

He pulled off of Izaya's lips and licked his own, trying to calm himself down so he didn't do anything hasty but it was harder than he expected. The actor went back to kissing him quickly, hoping he hadn't given away his thoughts before he felt Izaya holding tighter to his shoulders and pull on him to get him closer. "Kasuka.."

The ravenett watched ruby eyes open and gaze up at him needily, the smirk that formed into their kiss making him shudder. Of course the idea of sex was something Kasuka really found appealing at the moment, but with how Izaya looked and how he felt, he almost didn't want to trust himself. He'd always imagined a first time with someone, especially the man underneath him, to be special and slow and tender - but he had obviously forgot to acknowledge how alluring the man was and the fact that he could make him want to tear him apart. In the most loving way, of course..

They stared at each other for a moment before Izaya pulled him together again lightly, moving his hand up to tangle in Kasuka's hair as they kissed. And the actor had no qualms about it, he loved the feeling, but he knew that this would lead to something if they kept progressing this fast, making him finish the kiss before pulling away enough for his boyfriend to not tug him down too quickly. "Izaya, hold on." he muttered, catching his breath for a second and noticing that Izaya let him with no complaints - until about a moment later when he was trying to lean up and press kisses to Kasuka's jaw, shivers running up Kasuka's spine before they went down south despite his will. "N-No, I meant stop." he moaned, seeming to have caught the man's attention finally.

"Do you not like it?" the informant asked, obviously frozen in confusion as his hand let go of Kasuka's hair but didn't move away from it, just resting where it was.

"N-No, I love it. It feels amazing." he admitted, giving him a wide smile before glancing away, slightly guilty. "I-I just, uh.. I don't want to do this here." Kasuka looked at his boyfriend to watch for a reaction, and it did slowly come even if Izaya didn't look too pleased.

"We were just getting started..." the man complained, shifting obviously from the problem that he'd gotten from their fun as well. "But, it's not like I can make you. I can wait.." Izaya trailed off, moving his hands back down so he could wrap them around Kasuka's torso again. Just as Kasuka was taking a breath of relief from getting off easier than expected, the informant suddenly smirked at him and sat up a bit.

"But, even if we don't have sex.. Can I try something?" Kasuka watched him for a second, wondering what the heck Izaya could want to try in a situation like this. Knowing what he'd been able to do to people before, he didn't know if he should now fear for his own safety... But, he'd give his own boyfriend the benefit of the doubt any day.

"Depends what you want to try." Kasuka replied, backing off enough that Izaya could sit up properly and shift over a bit.

"It's nothing bad, just.. Well, I've heard it feels good." Izaya mumbled, tugging on Kasuka again until he was laying back on the bed with the informant moving between his legs. The actor saw this and his eyes narrowed, instantly shutting them.

"Please, at least tell me what you're doing  _before_  you start." Kasuka stressed, not sure what to feel at the moment.

"I already told you, nobody is fucking anybody, so calm down." Izaya huffed, having a staring match with his partner before Kasuka finally relented, letting him do what he wanted.

_**{** _ _**Sexual Content Warning!** _ _**}** _

Before Kasuka knew it, his yukata was being moved out of the way so Izaya could see the bulge waiting to be set free from it's confines. Obviously the man was pleased, seeing as he just kept smirking wider. "At least I know I can turn you on." he teased, reaching forward and palming it with his hand, making Kasuka tense up before shutting his eyes with a soft moan.

"Oh, fuck.." the actor got out as he arched lightly into his boyfriend's touch, the groping being light and teasing and completely unbearable. Before he had enough breath in him to complain, Izaya was pulling down his briefs and letting him stand tall, taking the length into his hand and giving a few firm strokes - it was enough to make Kasuka's mind go blank again, just wanting whatever it was Izaya had offered him.

Speaking of which, he faintly remembered still not getting an answer to what the man wanted to do. He forced his eyes open, not knowing when exactly he'd shut them, and glanced down just in time to see Izaya give the head of his cock an experimental lick before grinning and making him see stars.


	18. How We Met Our Match

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

The actor sat at home with a laptop propped in front of him as he laid on his couch, relaxing happily now that his vacation was over. Not that he didn't love it, it was one of the most fun things he'd done all year. The top of his list was still the premiere he'd taken Izaya to. He was pretty sure nothing would ever top it..

But now he could just sit back and relax until tomorrow when he had to go back to work, in the mean time doing whatever he wanted and smirking to himself as he thought of their last night in Osaka, along with all of the marks he'd made on his boyfriend after that little stunt he'd pulled. Kasuka had still refused him sex but he hadn't minded one bit in giving back what Izaya had done, being only possibly a little more rough than necessary~

After that the two had gotten a full morning's rest and packed up their things before heading back to the airport, Izaya deciding that he wanted to try and face his fear again so he could get over it. That second half didn't exactly go as planned but.. Izaya had managed to look out the window and see the sky around them without looking like he was going to die, so they counted it as a victory.

Kasuka wasn't even paying much attention to what he was watching on Youtube when his phone went off, the ringtone letting him know that it was Izaya sending him a text.  _Maybe I packed something of his in my bag._  he thought to himself, thinking Izaya would have had enough of him after almost four whole days together, but when he opened his phone he couldn't stop grinning. Izaya had apparently put his yukata back on after washing it and felt like letting his boyfriend know in the form of selfies, also a couple of them being sent with a caption 'You're going to pay for this' whenever he was sent one where Kasuka could see the hickeys and bruises he'd left on the other's pale skin.

_Or he's just letting me love him even more~_

* * *

Tuesday rolled around with no real issues, work continuing like always and no one asking about their trip because they had made sure not to tell anyone. Especially the group of interns that always acted like they knew everything that was going on, when really they just slacked off enough to be at the right places at the right times.

The only hint that someone knew absolutely anything about their situation was Izaya's personal assistant, who kept shooting him smirks and a thumb-up whenever the informant would go over to talk with Kasuka and practice again. "Why does she keep doing that?" Kasuka asked finally as they got into the ravenett's room, closing the door and locking it as always. They'd began to notice that, whether they were doing something or not, Dong-Yul was quick to send Izaya off somewhere for a stupid reason. They were almost never true, but if he ignored him the one time he  **was**  telling the truth, then they could both get into trouble for it.

So, now the door was forever locked until otherwise needed. Izaya just sat down on his couch and sprawled out with no problems, not complaining when Kasuka moved his legs to sit down as well. "Shara helps me get dressed, remember?" the ruby-eyes man groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose lightly as Kasuka let out a small 'oooh' before going quiet.

"... How many questions did she ask?" Kasuka wondered aloud, glancing at his boyfriend again.

"A couple too many. Thank fuck I played the 'shy' card with this persona.. Every time she asks me another question I go on about 'I cant talk about such things, I could never say that, blah blah blah..'" Izaya huffed, going back to his slightly higher voice as he impersonated himself.  _What a paradox that is._

The actor just hummed lightly before running his hand along Izaya's leg, which was now on his lap. "I'll try not to leave as many marks next time. Promise." All he got in response was a dark blush and pout thrown at him. Kasuka knew to stop teasing him after that, the man looked exhausted after all.

And it was all from putting up a persona this whole time, not even from doing work. When they were working Izaya would have a smile on his face, even if it wasn't always completely real, and he would be working hard to do more - but acting sweet and innocent all the time, though he did have his moments where that was the true him and Kasuka couldn't get enough of him that way, always seemed to be something harder than Kasuka thought.

Kasuka himself was an actor, and had been since almost the age of 7 when he'd first showed an interest in it and just did stupid little commercials when he had the time. But even he had never had to act off of a stage before.

Being silent and obedient around his brother wasn't an act, it was a habit and it had just become natural to him. Being the 'perfect child' around his parents also hadn't been acting, they had just been blind to the things that he obviously had  _no idea_  how to do well - like sewing, or baking, or putting his shoes on the right foot until about the age of 9. Everything else... Well, with no other words to use, he'd just never cared about them.

Other people didn't interest him and other people didn't seem to be too interested in him either until he started showing up on TV. What a turn around that had made... After his first one-episode feature in a drama, one that most middle-schoolers seemed to enjoy quite a lot, he had people asking to sit with him and hang out with him almost constantly.  _What a friendship **that**  would have been. Ugh.._

Thankfully, being a bit more clever than most at his age, he'd already known why they were asking and politely declined. Nonetheless, until he'd seen Izaya for the first time, and seen Shizuo have their routine fights for the first time - he'd never had to act outside of a stage before. And just pretending that he didn't care or had yet again no interest in people when Shizuo went on and on about how he hated the ravenett Kasuka was now loving, that had been torture for him.

Having to do it all day, mostly 6 days a week, for hours on end until they could just sit down and talk to one another - he couldn't imagine being able to do it.

"Hey Izaya, I was wondering.. Why did you start acting?" Kasuka asked softly, gazing down at his boyfriend again. Izaya obviously hadn't been expecting a question, looking half-asleep as it was, but he opened his eyes wider and looked up at him while he thought.

"I just did it on a whim... I'd seen you around the city before when doing something promotional and it seemed like a lot of fun. I had nothing to tell me otherwise so.." the man trailed off with a small shrug, getting a nod in response. The room was comfortably quiet again before Izaya made a small noise to grab his attention.

"Since we're on the topic of curiosity, I was wondering something too. I know we've been dating for a little over a month now but.. When did you start liking me?" the informant murmured, looking up at him with his ruby-eyes sparkling as he waited. They almost always did that when he was listening to something interesting, just another thing to add to the list of things Kasuka loved about him. Just thinking about how long he'd liked Izaya made his cheeks turn a bit pink though, making him look away.

"Well... Do you mean when did I get a crush on you, or when I really started to love you?" Kasuka asked him back, hoping that hadn't made things as awkward as he imagined it would. There was only a slight pause before Izaya cleared his throat, neither of them looking at one another.

"Th-the crush, I suppose." Kasuka grinned a bit at that and ignored that he was blushing deeper, scratching the back of his neck as he wondered how he should tell him the truth.

"When did I get a crush on you, huh..? Hehe. Well, uh, as weird as this probably sounds.. I've kinda had an official crush on you for, um..." Kasuka paused for a second, knowing that no one would ever logically have a crush for that long and not be considered a stalker or something, but then he thought about it again and knew he couldn't worry about that. Izaya's job was to stalk people, technically, and he'd never even seen the man except for them he was being chased by Shizuo - he hadn't done anything bad this entire time except maybe daydream of them sharing a first-kiss.

When he glanced over at his boyfriend, all he got was a curious look that was quickly becoming annoyed with how long he'd been waiting for an answer. Kasuka gave a small laugh before starting again. "I-I've had a crush on you for about 5 years now." the actor admitted, wincing lightly at the jump that Izaya gave when he heard the number.

"Five years?" Izaya repeated, getting a nod in return. "You've known me five years? I mean, I've known who you were for longer than that, but.. We met before all this?" the informant blinked at him as he kept asking him questions, making Kasuka confused before he drooped a bit.  _He doesn't remember the first time he saw me with aniki.._

Kasuka tried not to be upset about it, after all since Kasuka had been the one to get the crush and not Izaya it would make sense for him to forget about something like that ever happening. To Izaya it hadn't been important, there was no logical reason for it to even concern him until now. That didn't stop him from wanting to go away for a while, just to take a walk and be alone.

"Yeah, we did.. It's really stupid, but I thought you were an angel when I saw you. Shizuo had told me a bunch of awful things about this guy who kept tormenting him at school, so when I saw you I thought he must have been lying." Kasuka spilled out, smiling to himself as he stared at the ground. He'd never told anyone this in the first place, not his parents or his brother or even a stuffed animal that he'd had; telling it to Izaya himself seemed all too surreal for him to handle watching Izaya's reaction to this. "You even called me cute before you ran off to fight with him again."

After that last comment he paused before chancing a look at Izaya, seeing a very occupied expression on his face, instead of one that mocked him like he'd expected. Why did he expect this? He wasn't quite sure. Kasuka knew Izaya would never do anything to intentionally make him feel bad or stupid - he just knew for a fact that having a crush on someone you never even had a conversation with was not normal... At least, not in this sense. His fans would beg to differ...

Izaya was still looking around in front of him while he thought, actually looking like he was trying his best to remember before he glanced up to meet Kasuka's eyes. "Um.. Sorry, but what grade were me and Shizu-chan in when that happened?" the informant asked, for the first time in a long time looking hesitant.  _That's not normal.._

"You were both sophomores. It was the first year that he'd met you, at least." Kasuka muttered, wondering why that was so important. To the man beside him it must have meant something though, because his shoulders drooped and he stood up quickly, almost falling over from what Kasuka expected was a head-rush. "Izaya-?"

"Sorry, I gotta go." Izaya apologized, leaning in to give him a peck on the cheek before turning and running out.


	19. Remember That Time..?

_ [Izaya's POV] _

Izaya pushed passed people on his way back to his dressing room, just wanting to be alone for a while as his head started pounding harshly. He knew Kasuka was probably right behind him, if not it was only because of how shocked he was that the informant ran off at all.  _Sorry, Kasu-kun._

He got inside and shut the door behind him, locking it soundlessly before he leaned back against it and slid down, the pain in his head not letting him look around his room to see if Shara or someone else was there with him. He just hoped he'd been lucky enough to be in here alone. After a moment of the pain not going away, he curled up where he was and buried his head in his arms, trying to push out the light around him and drown out his own thoughts.

Izaya knew it wasn't Kasuka's fault that he was feeling this sick, he'd never done anything for the man to run off like that, but just the mention that he couldn't remember something from his first year back in Ikebukuro.. The memories he did have in place of them, were not pleasant.

* * *

The first day Izaya had come to Shinra's highschool, where he had recently been enrolled in, had been an adventurous one. In just that one day Izaya had managed to see most of the students and been able to sort them out into his own mental categories, which ones would be the most fun to pick on, which ones he could use to his advantage, which ones would probably try to pick on him instead before they figured out it wouldn't work; the only one not having a place yet was named Shizuo Heiwajima, but since he was actually fascinating to the ravenett he would keep him isolated as long as possible for observation purposes.

All in all, nothing seemed wrong about his new life in Tokyo. Except for the reason he was there at all.

It wasn't a mystery that he'd been born in Ikebukuro to his loving mother and father, and it wasn't a mystery that he'd been an odd one, always studying people and staring no matter how many times he'd been told it was rude. He'd constantly say odd things to the other children and occasionally his teachers, making him almost infamous in the two primary schools he'd been to. But he'd been bright and there hadn't been anything wrong with him, so everyone let it slide and didn't pay attention.

It especially wasn't a mystery when Izaya met Shinra and the two 'weirdos', as some had called them, hit it off and became fast friends. In their own way, most supposed..

What was a mystery, was how his father and mother could both get so suddenly preoccupied that they'd had to send their children, Izaya and his two new little sisters who were only about 2 at the time, off into the countryside to live under the care of their grandparents. They'd been given no warnings and one day his mother had been acting odd while his father had been, to their knowledge, bed-ridden.

With Izaya being 12 and a very bright child to begin with, the parents had no qualms about sending them off on a plane to get there and meet their close-family, but Izaya could tell something was wrong. The two had never been too busy for them, only forgetting to pick up Izaya from school nearly once a month, and even then one of them had been able to call and let him know that he'd have to go to Shinra's house for the night if he could. For Shirou and Kyouko to give them up so easily, it sent off quite a few alarms to the ravenett.

But what could he do? He'd been given no choice, so he got his and his sisters' things together before wishing Shinra farewell and taking off on the flying death-trap towards his new home.

And that's where the trio stayed until suddenly, in the beginning of Izaya's sophomore year, his mother called to let them know that they needed to come back, Izaya most of all, and that when they got there she would have bad news for them. Not the most promising of her phone calls but... After being separated from his parents for nearly 3 years and having to technically raise his little sisters into fine, young toddlers because their grandparents weren't the most attentive people at their age - he was ready for any excuse to go home.

When he got there was when he became disillusioned.

He'd stepped into his old home with his sisters on his arms, and looked around to see almost all of their worldly possessions gone - pictures of them still present but no longer framed or put up somewhere because there was nothing to hang them with. The whole place was barren and on further inspection, their father was no where to be seen. The reason for why made Izaya feel all the worse.

Apparently, not to most people's knowledge, Izaya wasn't the first in his family to get into a bad business - the yakuza could get anyone they wanted after all, as long as they were quiet about it. And as long as they kept quiet even further, they could make anyone they wanted disappear. Along with Shirou Orihara. They'd been sent off so the parents wouldn't have to spend so much money on food or clothes, leaving more in their bank to send to their father's boss, Shiki, and pay their debts. Even so, the money had run out when Shirou inevitably got injured and could no longer work. With him out of business and Kyouko not having a job at the time, they were completely out of luck and had begun resorting to selling their own things to pay him off, something that also didn't get them anywhere near the quota... After 6 months of not being able to live up to Shiki's demands, their father had gone missing and Kyouko went to her last option - calling her son back so he could work for them in return.

Without even being back in his hometown for a month, Izaya had been sent back and forth from his new 'work-place' and school more times than he could count. And if you asked him, he had never once gotten a break.

At school he could talk with Shinra once more and get all the medical help he needed for free, along with his mother once he and his companion had worked something out with Shinra's father, but once school ended it was right back to work.

Unlike what he had expected, he hadn't been permitted to live at home with his mother anymore, his new boss thinking he'd try to rat them out in return for killing off Shirou. So instead, he was forced to stay at his work almost constantly and go get anything and everything his boss and his boss' friends wanted, no matter what time, item or person they asked of him. And at first that was fine, until he had finally paid off his family's debt and thought he could leave.

In retrospect, he was bright enough to know that something like that wasn't something a person could walk away from and never think about again, but when he'd tried to do it in reality everything went very quickly down south. Once he was told that his debt was paid off, that he'd done very well and that anything he earned in the future did not have to go through Shiki and could instead go right to him and his family - the ravenett was elated. No more living in his tiny office-space, no more having to wonder how his mother and sisters were doing because he wasn't permitted to see them yet, no more having to go right from school back to selling a drug or tricking someone into an alleyway with only one hour of personal time to himself, that hour being counted by the very second with high punishment if he went over. He was finally free to be a teenager again...

Except that he wasn't. The very day after he'd been told the debt was paid off, he was then taken back to Shiki to 'have a discussion' with him. That discussion involved his boss letting him know that if he tried to leave the business, he'd not be lost of only one parent. And while he could come and go as he pleased, not having to live at work anymore and report right to Shiki -there was no option for him outside of this business, now or any time in the future. He either forfeited his life or agreed to work for them and continue to earn his family's pay as the bread-winner.

He made the obvious decision of living and continuing to help his family, but with saying the word 'yes' he'd also given them permission to break him in order for him to never betray them. Which led to a good year of him being kicked around, wounded, stabbed and sometimes publicly humiliated in front of his co-workers on nearly a daily basis until they thought he was loyal enough to not even think of going near the police. With all of the beatings, some very pointedly at his head, came a very good portion of his life leaking out of his mind and into what Shinra had called 'non-selective amnesia', leaving him with his memories - good or bad, of Shinra, Kasuka, Shizuo, his mother, father and anyone he came into contact with - warily becoming forgotten in the blink of an eye.

* * *

Izaya had no idea when he'd forgotten about meeting Kasuka, or the many events that Shinra would go on about from their time together in middle-school, or even when he'd gotten that mysterious and admittedly creepy  **head**  that was hidden away deep in a closet in his home - but just knowing that he was still working for the man that had made him forget them all and only remember loyalty was surely enough to make him sick to his stomach at the very thought.

And even if it wasn't Kasuka's fault, he was sure that for the next week, at least, he was going to be making himself sick trying to regain the memory he had lost in place of those awful years he'd been forced to live.


	20. Help Is On The Way

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

Kasuka paced his dressing room after getting the news that Izaya wasn't feeling well and had decided to go home, needing bed rest or something like that. He'd been advised to not go and check on him until tomorrow, for his own health and so that Izaya wouldn't worry while recovering, but he didn't want to listen to them.

Sure, the man had looked sick when he ran out earlier but sickness doesn't hit someone that suddenly, at least not that Kasuka knew of. His boyfriend had looked completely fine and just a little bit tired until he blurted out how long he'd had a crush on him - stupid decision on his part...  _Why? Why did I have to tell him that? I could have lied! I could have just gone 'Ive had a crush since the moment I laid eyes on you' and not lied, and kept it vague and then he wouldn't have run off because of me being a freak!_

The actor took a deep breath as he sat back down on the couch, head in his hands as he tried to calm himself down and not think that their relationship was over. Sure, he'd said something weird - but it's not like Izaya would dump him over it, right? Kasuka made Izaya happy, it was that simple and the actor was pretty sure he was right about it. He'd given Kasuka nothing but love and affection back, in his own way, the entire time they've been dating and even took steps forward himself - it's not like Izaya wasn't enjoying himself to begin with, so this one little thing couldn't possibly make his boyfriend dislike him...

He hoped.

Kasuka took another few deep breaths as he felt his head pound again, making him groan at himself as he laid down.  _Now's not the fucking time for a panic attack, brain! Thank you very much..._ He cursed at himself, pushing his mind somewhere else and thinking of various things that made him happy until he felt fine again, peaking at the clock before letting out a sigh.  _Well that only wasted 45 minutes of my life._

He sat up slowly and went back to pacing, not knowing what else to do as he couldn't seem to sit still without making himself feel even worse.

The more he paced the more he thought though, pondering how Izaya would act around him when they saw each other the next day or the day after that if he really wasn't feeling well. Speaking of which, he wasn't even sure if Izaya was really sick or not. He looked bad when leaving, but like he'd said...  _If he is sick though, then I'm an ass for assuming it's just my fault.._

He paused in the middle of the room and wondered what to do before running a hand through his hair, the growing headache he had not helping him think clearly. "Ugghhh... First things first, find aspirin. Second, go check on Izaya." he decided, going to his desk and rummaging around until he found what he wanted and could walk out to find some water, downing 2 of the small pills before discarding the bottle with a sigh. "Alright.. I have a boyfriend to comfort." he muttered to himself, thinking of an excuse quickly before leaving and heading off to Izaya's apartment.

* * *

Kasuka now stood in front of his boyfriend's door, fidgeting his hands in his pockets as he wondered if he should knock or just leave. He'd been confident on the ride here that going and checking on him, whether Kasuka was the issue or not, would be the best thing to do - but now that he was here, the thoughts of consequences in case he WAS the problem kept entering his mind and making him hesitate.

Ideas of Izaya dumping him the moment he opened the door made him falter even more but he gritted his teeth and finally knocked, thinking that if Izaya didn't want to talk to him then he didn't want to talk and they could leave it at that.. Hopefully.

He was patient with waiting for the door, not wanting to rush his boyfriend, but once 5 minutes passed he knocked again, convincing himself that Izaya just hadn't heard him. There was a peep-hole on the door, so if the ravenett had seen him through it and just decided to ignore him he wouldn't be surprised either, but hey, he could at least say he tried.

He tried a third and a fourth time, finally feeling like giving up as he scuffed his shoe on the floor while he waited. A deep frown was on his face as he turned away from it, about to head off before he stopped himself and bit his lip, turning back to it and shuffling around as he looked for a spare key. Almost everyone had one somewhere, so if he just looked hard enough he could be able to get inside. And no, he was not doing this for his own personal gain, he was worried sick about his boyfriend - who he'd just so imagined to have fallen somewhere and gotten himself hurt, making him unable to answer the door.

The actor finally found a key, taped to the bottom of the door where there was a little gap from the floor.  _Damn, I should try this with mine.._ He brought himself back to the task at hand and turned the key in the lock, biting his lip again as he stepped inside. "Izaya?" Kasuka called out, looking around the spacious apartment.

"Up here." a voice called from upstairs, making him freeze. He'd never heard someone other than Izaya inside the apartment before so he momentarily wondered if he should call the police. It wouldn't be a surprise if someone had decided to come in and try to kill him for something he'd done as his work, but he didn't want to be too hasty. After all, if the police came and found out what Izaya did then whoever was here wouldn't be the only one to go to jail. So, he just got out his cellphone and opened it, hand ready to dial something as he trailed up the stairs and looked around, seeing Izaya's door cracked open.

"Who's there?" he called again, slowly walking towards it and pushing it open more to see Izaya laid on his bed with a woman sitting in a chair beside him. The informant tried to say something before the woman flicked his head and she turned to the door, about to answer him. When they locked eyes she cut off quickly, looking as shocked as he did.

"Damn Izaya, I knew you could trick just about anyone, but an actor? Good on ya.." she huffed in amazement, standing up and going over to him to shake his hand. Kasuka cautiously returned it. "Don't look at me like that, I'm this bastard's assistant. And you must be this psycho's partner, yeah?" she asked casually, making his eyes widen before he glanced at Izaya.

"Namie, you're being a cruel bitch again. Either do your job or leave." Izaya whined from the bed, sounding just as bad as he looked at the moment. His bangs were stuck to his forehead from sweat and he looked even more pale than usual, a very bad sign.

"My job description never included taking care of dipshit informants, ya got that? You're lucky you pay me, if you didn't then I just might be mean enough to let you stay here and die." The woman, now known as Namie, commented, making both ravenetts sigh.

"Namie, correct? Thank you for taking care of him, but I can handle it from here." he muttered, giving her a small smile before going to Izaya's side and beginning to worry over him. "Hey, how you feeling?" he asked softly, giving him a smile to hopefully calm him down a bit. The man had his eyes firmly shut though, brows knitted from a headache.

"Not good, so you can leave too." Kasuka frowned. "Izaya, you shouldn't be alone when you're sick." "Don't care, just go down and watch TV or something if you don't want to go home." "Izaya." "Kasu-kun." Izaya finally opened his eyes, sounding serious even though he'd used his nickname. It was probably because Namie was still in the room and watching them in confusion.

"Izaya, do you really want me to leave?" the actor challenged, keeping his face neutral as he hovered over him, eyes staying locked on his boyfriend's. When the ruby-eyed informant just turned his head to the side, he knew the real answer was "no". Kasuka finally let out a small smile again as he sat back in the chair Namie had been using, listening to her finally leaving.


	21. Reclaim The Past

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant laid in bed a while longer after Kasuka had showed up in his home unannounced. He wondered how he got in at all, but being mentally exhausted as it was he forgot to ask. It was nerve-wracking how quiet the two of them were after Namie left, as well. Izaya wasn't even sure why, but this silence just felt a lot more pressing than any of the others around them before and he focused on getting his headache to go down a bit before looking at his boyfriend, who was staring off into space as he held tightly onto Izaya's hand.

The ravenett gave it a small squeeze to get the Heiwajima's attention and Kasuka looked over at him, attentive to anything he needed. It made Izaya feel special to know that someone now wanted to have him close and to take care of him all the time, but in the current situation he couldn't smile from it, barely choking out his need for water to the other.

"Alright, hold on." Kasuka agreed without hesitation, heading downstairs to grab it for him.  _He's like a puppy. A personal-services puppy._

At that thought Izaya finally got out a smile, but it went away before Kasuka even made his way back to the room, thoughts of his boyfriend just leading to the thought that he'd completely forgotten ever meeting his lover. And it wasn't the reason he forgot that made him mad - well, technically he was still  **very, very**  pissed about  **why**  it happened - but just the fact that something that could be such a small but now heartwarming memory was taken from him without even knowing it.

He'd been able to meet his current love at a young age, unlike most people were able to accomplish, and the two had gotten together despite all odds, another accomplishment that most didn't achieve. Yet, he couldn't remember a single thing about that precious moment. And that simple fact caused him to feel physical pain, despite all of the damage being mental.

Izaya couldn't even explain it. In between all the headaches, he would have flashes where he didn't feel pain for a while, mostly when he had zoned out to part of his mind that were completely intact and had nothing missing to try and trigger back - but in that pains place was a completely different one that he wasn't familiar with. Somehow, even if his logic told him that it wasn't possible, it hurt a lot more than the sickness.

It was like something cold was in place of his nerves and it started in his fingers most of the time, travelling up his bones and into his chest where it just made him feel compressed and miserable, and if he thought about it too long then it could settle in his stomach and make him feel empty.

He'd heard of people saying that emotional pain could sometimes affect the body, but besides the lapses in health from his memory he'd thought they'd been lying. Now that he actually felt it, he wished it would just go away and never come back.

The feeling edged away quickly when Kasuka came back with his water, helping him sit up and sip it before laying him back down and letting him rest while holding his hand again. It helped him more than he would let Kasuka know, surely, and he closed his eyes to sleep for a bit while he was still feeling alright.

Bad choice on his part.. After a while his unconscious came back and despite the splitting headache that was forming once again, he wasn't waking up. Just living a dream, a memory or something in between that simply pained him more.

* * *

_"Come up, come up, if you don't place your bet then no one will win~" Izaya coaxed, looking around at the humans in front of him. They were of various sorts, all in different categories to Izaya, but all of them being quite the same at the moment - after all, they had all decided to join this little club of his and Shinra's to gamble their sorry excuses for allowances away._

_Every one of them looked hesitant, obviously not wanting to be the first to bet their savings on the game of choice, currently Blackjack. Izaya looked between all of them again before letting out an amused sigh, jumping down from the desk he'd been standing on. "Alright then, it can't be helped. 100 on the board for me to begin." the ravenett announced, shocking his classmates as he put 100 dollars cash into the box of winnings that was supposed to at least have something other than his **own**  money in it by now._

_All of them looked to their friends before taking steps forward to put in a much smaller price than his own for them to play. Izaya smirked as he made sure everything was set up correctly before sitting to take his place as dealer, hoping his constant smile had lulled them into the sense of security he thought it brought them. Of course he'd seen the adverse affects it could also bring, but he could be optimistic when he felt like it._

_As everyone took a seat in front of him, the door to their classroom opened and Shinra came in, adjusting his glasses when he saw what they were doing. "Izaya, I thought we agreed to stop this! This is a biology club, not a-!" the student cut off before lowering his voice, not wanting it to carry down the halls and be heard by a teacher. "Not a gambler's ring!" he finished, being waved off by the ruby-eyed student immediately._

_"Shinra, I made no such agreement~ You told me to stop being so frivolous with my cash, and I did stop. End of story." Izaya replied, dealing out everyone's 2 cards and watching their faces to see if they got a high or low, smirking as he ran his fingers over the edge of the cards and felt for which ones were fives and which ones were Kings and similar. Some of them already had a resigned look about them, casting glances at the now closed box holding their money, which would soon be going right to Izaya if he played his cards right. The joke in his head made him almost chuckle aloud._

_Shinra was still beside him looking nonplussed and sighed softly, rubbing his forehead. "Alright, fine. I can't really stop you or else I won't have a club either.." he murmured, letting Izaya do as he pleased once more..._

* * *

_Izaya walked along the corridor as he made his way to their club room, humming to himself as he pondered what amount he could make today and trying to do calculations of everyone's supposed average in his mind before he opened the door. It didn't matter that he was early, he still had to set up anyways; set up was best done alone so he could make sure it was done right, loving his humans but having no trust for each of their individual abilities._

_What he saw when he looked inside actually took away his usually cheerful demeanor. He saw a student in front of Shinra, threateningly holding a pocket knife in his hand and moving towards him; Shinra in turn backed up until he his back hit the glass of the window. "You're the president, aren't you? Give me my fucking money back!" the middle-schooler demanded, causing Shinra to stutter and shake his head._

_Izaya acted quickly, shooting forward when he saw the student's weapon move closer to his only friend. He knocked the teen away, elbowing him in the ribs to knock out his air and make it easier before looking at Shinra with wide eyes, seeing that the weapon now out of the boy's hand was lodged in the other teen's side. "Shit.. Shinra, we have to get you help, now." Izaya muttered, seeing the brunet look at him in confusion as he held his side._

_"What about this guy?" "Just forget about him." "But, he just-" "Shinra, I know what I'm doing... Do me a favor and tell everyone I'm the one that hurt you." "What!?"_

_"Shinra." Izaya stopped the other seriously, glancing at the guy on the floor before stomping his heel into his diaphragm, making the guy effective gasp for air before he stopped moving all together. "Shinra, you trust me, right?" he asked, looking at his friend again, eyes calm as he waited for an answer. His companion was obviously still in shock from being attack and still in pain as well but he nodded nonetheless, leaning on Izaya's shoulder as the ravenett guided him out into the hall and towards the nurses office._

* * *

Izaya shot up from his position as his body woke himself up, retching as his gut twisted from the now sheering pain in his head. The pounding was unbearable and he could already taste something that made him feel even sicker, hands covering his mouth as he tried to stop himself from vomiting.

He couldn't even see the stunned expression on Kasuka's face as the other man shot up from his chair beside him and grabbed a little trashcan from the corner of Izaya's room, giving it to him so he could hurl without worries. Since Izaya has just woken up he almost forgot that his boyfriend was there, only grateful that he magically had the bucket in front of him when he finally emptied out. The hand rubbing his back was what let him know he wasn't alone though and he was immediately grateful, even if he was too preoccupied to show it.

The informant finished and panted lightly before he groaned from the awful taste, confused at the feeling of something cold being pushed into his hand. "It's more water. Rinse your mouth." Kasuka coaxed, getting a feeble nod from him before he almost knocked out again, not used to the physical strain. After doing what he was told to; helped along by his lover as he got up to clean himself off and brush his teeth while Kasuka got rid of what he'd just done, only making the informant feel worse for putting him through this.

"I'm sorry about that.." Izaya muttered, apparently being predictable since all he got was a smile from the actor.

"It's nothing. I just want you to get better, so get some more rest for me, alright?" Kasuka replied, running a hand through Izaya's hair to help him before the informant listened and closed his eyes, blacking out completely this time.


	22. Don't Panic

_[Izaya's POV]_

"I'll only be gone an hour at the most, okay?"

"Yeah.."

"And if you need anything you can still call."

"Yeah…"

"Do you really feel fine? I can leave later!"

"I'm fine, Kasu-kun!" Izaya sighed loudly, hoping Kasuka got the message this time. He'd already been fussing over him all day, and while he was grateful for the man when he needed him, the constant mother-hen attitude was beginning to get old.

"Alright.. I'll be back soon." his boyfriend finally relented, giving him a peck on the forehead before heading out the door and towards home. About an hour ago he'd started muttering about needing to grab some clothes for himself, wanting to sleep over at Izaya's just in case anythign happened - Izaya agreed as long as he kept out of his bed until he felt better again - and also that he needed to go buy some groceries for the man if they wanted to eat anything actually healthy in the next week.

Now that he was finally alone the informant could think clearly, taking deep breathes as he stared at the ceiling. He was getting bored of the sight pretty quickly however and shut his eyes, wondering if Kasuka would allow them to relax on the couch and watch a movie later or if he would be confined to the bed. 'I guess I'll just have to ask..'

He kept thinking randomly until his eyes got heavier in their shut state and he let out a soft sigh, peacefully falling asleep for a short while.

* * *

_"You fuckin' punk, this isn't what we asked for!" a man yelled at him, arm lifting to throw the small bag of drugs back at him, only being stopped by one of his buddies who was apparently still sober. The teenager stood before a group of 5 men, all of them practically wasted except said man who was smoking a cigarette._

_"Dude, cut it out. He's like 16, how would he know what the good stuff looks like? At least he got us somethin' to use?" the blond holding onto his reasoned, making Izaya nod his head agreeably despite the glare it got him._

_"He promised us meth and he didn't get it to us, I say drug or no drug he deserves a little punishment." the first huffed, shaking the blond off and being backed up by two of their friends, one holding a bat and making Izaya's hand shoot into his pocket where he kept his knife. But despite being armed, his hand shook and he released the blade unwillingly. The teen couldn't use it after all, these were his 'co-workers' as Shiki had put it, meant to be treated as family.. He was glad that his prior family was much kinder to him._

_"Now what are you boys doing?" a voice behind Izaya called, familiar and making him open his closed eyes. He hadn't wanted to see what would happen to him when the tallest of them picked him up and hovered him over the ground so he couldn't run, if he even thought to. Now though, the whole group was frozen and when he glanced behind him, their boss stood calmly in the doorway, smiling as he overlooked them._

_Izaya had never been more happy to see his boss, the only one that could tell them to not go through with beating him for a simple mistake. How was one that had never done drugs supposed to tell the real from the fake, and the difference between two drugs that looked **exactly fucking alike?**_

_Shiki kept his gaze on them for a moment, only being debatable because of his dark shades, before letting out a laugh. "What did the poor thing do to deserve you crowding him, huh?" he asked, almost sounding soft-spoken as he approached, moving his hand to rest it on Izaya's shoulder. The tallest got the signal and set him down, even if none too gently._

_"We sent him on a drug run and he came back with shit!"_

_"It's not my fault coke and meth look the same to me! They're both white powder and get you high, it's practically like me getting you the wrong brand of Coca-Cola by accident!" Izaya protested, grimacing at them as the one who had originally defended him stood up, walking to Shiki's side and keeping his head respectively lowered._

_"Boss, you know Buk did the same thing when he first joined. You can't really get too mad, can ya?" the blond murmured, barely letting Izaya hear their conversation. Shiki gave a small nod as he hummed, that damn smirk still on his face._

_"No, I guess I can't. Though something needs to be done, it can't happen again when I ask him to go on a run, after all~" Shiki announced, making Izaya shrink from his usually proud stance. Even the blond looked disappointed, but Shiki motioned for the two of them - luckily dismissing the rest that had tried to beat him up - to follow which they did silently, Shiki leading them to a half way and gesturing to the blond._

_"Teach him a lesson. Any kind you want, have fun with it. Just make sure he's back in his office once you're done."_

_"Yessir.." the blond agreed, grabbing Izaya by the arm before he dragged him roughly down towards one of the open doors. The student's eyes grew wide as he realized where they had gone, instantly trying to pull his arm out of the man's grip and kick at his legs and shins to try and get away. **Fuck, fuck, fuck! This isn't happening, this isn't going to happen!**_

_He knew this area and made a point to avoid it, mostly because it wasn't uncommon to hear screaming from this hall and a couple nearby. On occasion he'd see woman here, happy or sad, but whichever they appeared they always left looking awful. And it was quite rare to see a man down here but he was sure the same treatment wasn't spared to them._

_Izaya was practically crying already by the time they reached the first open door, still kicking and screaming to try and get away from him - the blond threateningly quiet the entire way as he handled him. The ruby-eyed teen gave a small shriek as he was lifted up and thrown into the room, hitting the bed before he bounced off and he heard the door slam shut behind them. He started panicking again before the scene before him went dark._

* * *

"Izaya!" a voice shouted, accompanied by hands shaking him to wake him up. "Izaya, are you alright?" the same voice asked, Izaya's eyes shooting open to see his boyfriend's worried expression. He took a moment to try and calm himself down but before he could he was covering his mouth again, frantically pointing to the trash can so Kasuka would get the message. He did and soon he was hacking up his breakfast again, for probably the third time that day. The informant still felt awful and panicked and scared, but as his sickness went down again he could put thoughts together and glanced at the ravenett with him.

"Y-Yeah, it was just a nightmare... I'm alright." he finally coughed out, taking comfort in the fact it was true. He was alright and he had been in his recovered memory too, but having been panicking it was understandable he would feel sick again reliving it. Izaya had remembered what happened after that clearly, everything proceeding being thrown into the room not forgotten and just confusing him to all hell after he'd lost the first half.

Not to his knowledge at the time, the blond was another who had been brought into the line of work through family, not by choice - meaning killing and maiming weren't his thing, but drugs had slowly crept in and made him a bit more willing to stay. That aside, after defending Izaya and being given the chance to take him, he'd simply thrown him in the room to trick Shiki before calming him down again and having one of Izaya's first conversations in his new business place that wasn't filled with requests for something illegal.

The man hadn't laid a hand on him after that and didn't even hint that he wanted to, just keeping Izaya calm and safe inside their little room for about an hour an a half - a good amount of time for what they'd been  _thought_  to be doing to be over with. And to say Izaya was grateful was an understatement, he could have held onto the guy and cried for an hour if he was anyone other than himself, wishing more people he'd known then to be so kind to him.

Even after losing the, at that time, more important part of that memory Izaya had remained close to him, now having a sort of shield and mentor in this job he'd been forced into and had stayed in contact with him through all of these years. The two emailed each other constantly now, and Izaya thought to himself that he'd have to email him a formal 'thank-you' once he got the chance, even if it was a couple years late for it.

The informant's attention was once again caught by his boyfriend, who was trying to get him to look at him instead of hover over the waste bucket like he still needed it. "Izaya, seriously, say something." Kasuka persisted, waving his hand in front of his eyes before Izaya turned them to him again, a sorry smile on his face.

"Sorry about that, I didn't want to vomit again in the middle of a sentence." he lied easily, sitting up and shifting around so he could go brush his teeth again. "I'm fine now, thanks Kasu-kun." he muttered, getting a nod before his boyfriend went to go throw out the mess again. They both finished their task before Izaya came out, grimacing at his bed before looking over at the actor. "Is it alright if we watch a movie? I think I'm getting sicker just from the boredom." And with a roll of his eyes, Kasuka headed down the stairs with him towards the living room.


	23. Take A Hint

_[Izaya's POV]_

Izaya and Kasuka were half-way through the movie before a buzz came from Kasuka's phone, letting him know Mr. Watane had finally figured out their second star was out for the next week as well. "Did you really not tell him you were leaving yesterday?" Izaya muttered, glancing at the movie again as an explosion rang out. They had the volume turned down considerably so Izaya wouldn't get a worse headache than usual, but it was still pretty easy to hear.

Kasuka chuckled behind him, having his boyfriend half in his lap and half on the edge of the couch as they watched the film. "No, I kinda just left a note and came here… I didn't want to deal with convincing him for an hour. You know how he was after all that with aniki." the ravenett mumbled, getting a nod as they both thought of what had gotten them together in the first place. Despite the bad connotation, neither of them bothered with it very much - Kasuka had let Izaya know the blond wanted to apologize in the first place even if he hadn't gotten around to it yet personally.

Kasuka left the room to talk with their boss as he began actually calling instead of texting, probably to see if everything was alright, and Izaya sighed as he sat back on the couch, missing the other's warmth. The informant shifted where he sat again as he glanced at his computer, realizing he hadn't done his more important job in a couple days and should probably get on with it if he didn't want another 'warning' from Shiki. Everytime he got one, he got more and more worried for his lover and co-star, giving him a lot of motivation to complete the tasks he'd been given

_Just checking my emails won't hurt._ Izaya convinced as he stood up and went over to his computer, pressing the power button and waiting patiently as it loaded, getting everything set up normally and checking over things, noticing he'd received even more tasks than usual in the last three days.  _Normal, I guess. The later in the year it gets, the more desperate people become._ He scrolled through a couple of them before declining four out of the ten he'd gotten, thinking they could go to someone with a smaller skill-set than him to complete. They weren't assigned to him by Shiki either, so there was no harm in saying 'no'.

When he looked up and saw Kasuka still hadn't come back, he quickly went into his bookmarks and got into the Dollar chatrooms, wondering what good or bad news people could have come up with. Sadly, no one was on at the moment… Understandable, seeing as it was 9 a.m. on a weekday, most were probably at school or at work if they weren't skipping either option.  _Damn, and I actually wanted to get something done…_

He shut everything down again as Kasuka came over and noticed he wasn't where he'd left him, frowning suddenly. "You shouldn't worry about working right now, you're sick." he reminded softly, patting the spot beside him on the couch for Izaya to come over. Said man just rolled his eyes and came over, plopping down gracefully and leaning into him.  _Like I would forget so easily._

They stayed like that for a while until Kasuka started falling asleep, the movie they had picked being one he'd seen before and also having an amazingly soft soundtrack. Izaya didn't mind of course, he just kept laying against him as he watched the movie and glanced at his boyfriend's sleeping face. After the movie ended and it was just showing credits, Izaya gazed up at the still sleeping man for a few moments, frowning to himself as he realized he'd only remembered things not involving his significant other yet.  _Of course I don't get to remember what I want to.._

The informant sighed softly before he heard a knock on his door, making him perk up. For a while now he had stopped sending people to his own apartment for business, meeting them in places like Russia Sushi instead - for obvious personal reasons - so he pondered why someone would just show up out of the blue. He certainly wasn't expecting anyone, too busy being sick to really feel like chatting in the first place.

Nevertheless, he got up and went to the door, peeking through the peep-hole and blinking at what he saw. He double-checked just to make sure it was him before opening the door. "Shizu-chan.. This is a surprise." was all he said, looking the blond up and down as he stood before him, literally being the last person he had expected. "So, did you need anything or did you come to kick my ass after not seeing me for a week?" he asked immediately, leaning against his door even as he was ready to close it.

No one could blame him for not wanting the blond near his property after what had happened there, could they? Said blond just gritted his teeth, shifting where he stood as he glared at him over the dark shades. "I came to apologize for choking you, you fucking flea.."

"Shizu-chan, you do realize you did that over a month ago, right? Why would you apologize now?"

"Because I don't want to, but I was around and if I don't do it now then I won't ever fucking do it and then Kasuka will get mad or some shit; so take the apology, you damn flea!" Shizuo suddenly announced, vein already popping in his head.  _He must've been thinking about doing this for a while if he's already so worked up. It hasn't even been 5 minutes yet._

"Fine, fine. Thank you for the apology, Shizu-chan, I forgive you. Was there anything else you wanted?" Izaya asked politely, feeling unusually compliant after two and a half days of sickness, along with gaining memories that he didn't even want back yet.  _Why the fuck do you have to look so much like Shinnosu?_ The informant waited patiently for the blond to ask him something as he stood in his doorway, seeing the little, tiny, almost broken wheels turning in Shizuo's mind.

"Have you seen Kasuka around? I know you're dating, so when he didn't answer me I assumed he's with you." the debt collector added hesitantly, obviously hating the idea of asking  _Izaya_  anything about  _his_  family. It simply made the informant smirk.

"Yes, I've seen him. And before you say anything, no he's not dead or in danger, we were just watching a movie." Izaya trailed along, glancing at his fingernails in boredom now that he knew he wasn't in danger.

"So he's here still?"

"Yes. Again, we just watched a movie."

"Can I talk to him?"

"He's asleep, Shizu-chan~"

"He's my fucking brother!"

"And he's my boyfriend. I win~"

"I-za-ya-kuuun…" came his small warning, letting Izaya look up to see Shizuo's arms now at his sides, hands in fists to threaten him. It had been a while again since their last chase, seeing as it was last Monday, so he was a bit tense that if they started fighting he'd once again be caught… Izaya shook off the shudder that threatened to go through him and just kept smirking at him.

"What? You can't deny that I'm right. Besides, if you hurt me now then he'll just wake up and throw you out."

"What's so special about you now?"

Izaya opened his mouth to say that he was sick before quickly shutting it, reminding himself that the beast didn't need to know when he was at his weakest. Even if death wasn't a threat, he could still worry for his beautiful self. "We.. were going to go out tonight. And he planned it. So if you ruin it, then you'll make him even more upset." the informant improvised, keeping his eyes steadily on Shizuo's, hoping his little brain wouldn't be able to detect lies.  _Then again, he thinks everything I say is a lie, so there's nothing I can do about that._

The blond just watched him with a look of disgust, gritting his teeth again as he turned to walk away. "I don't get why he likes you. You're still just as disgusting as the time you met him.." the other muttered, making Izaya perk up and watch his back as he left. He stayed where he was for a moment, just about to go back inside when a sudden pain went through his head and crippled him. From it being such a shock to him, he simply dropped to the floor and caught himself again as he squeezed his eyes shut, biting back any sound that could come from him.

There was a flash of some images behind his eyes, the one that repeated being of a teenage Shizuo with a much smaller looking Kasuka beside him, holding hands as they were about to walk off with their back to him.

The informant let out a small groan as he opened his eyes again, Kasuka beside him and gripping his shoulder. "I'm okay. I just moved too fast, I guess.." Izaya muttered, getting a nod out of his boyfriend before Kasuka took the opportunity to pick him up bridal style and carry him back inside to the couch.


	24. Aniki, Be Calm

_ [Izaya's POV] _

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, Kasu-kun~ I feel a lot better now, thanks for staying with me two days." Izaya hummed in reply, giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek as they sat next to each other, on their way to work. It had been two days since Shizuo came over to visit his house and in that time, Izaya had focused on just relaxing and not even thinking of his past, just getting what little work done he could from his laptop before deciding to go back to the set this morning.

Toren was humming along to the radio in front of them as they were on their way, Kasuka still seeming unconvinced that the ravenett was completely better after all that. "It was nothing. I just want to make sure you're healthy." he muttered, giving him a kiss back before relaxing as well, letting out a slight smile as they got to the front gates and got out of the limo.

From there everything was just like normal, Kobayashi and Kasuka practicing their lines together, chatting along with a couple of interns that were curious about them even if the two never let any real information slip, and in general just working off what they had missed in the few days, along with trying to get even more done. That was almost impossible and they didn't even get half of the two days worth done by the time their day was over, but it was a good effort at least.

And despite how tired Izaya was and how much he just wanted to go home and relax again, getting actual sleep after having the short bursts of it he'd been getting before, he pushed himself to go out on the town instead. The thought of going home and even  _possibly_  seeing his ceiling again was something that almost gave him another headache, something he was also tired of by now.

The informant took a big breath of fresh air before walking again, heading in a random direction as he just cleared out his thoughts and enjoyed the city around him. Even on a weekday there were plenty of humans to observe and snicker at, entertaining himself for a good while before he realized he had already reached Ikebukuro a good amount of time ago, failing to have something thrown at him.  _I don't like this deja-vu.._

Izaya turned around fully to examine his surroundings and sighed a bit before continuing where he'd been going, deciding to relax a little and have fun while he could. Maybe if he reached Russia Sushi before the beast spotted him he could even have some Ootoro. Kasuka had neglected to get him any while sick, saying that he needed something healthy to eat so he could get better more quickly.  _Thanks for the thought, but now I'm weak from Ootoro-deprivation!_

Izaya just grinned to himself as he got there and got his meal, prancing out happily and doing his 'Izaya-walk' down the street and back towards home.  _Don't push your luck with that beast._ He thought to himself, and just as he did, he spotted a head of blond hair on top of a bartender outfit, clear down the street and walking along behind his boss.  _Weird, I didn't know he works late._

The informant glanced at where Shizuo had been, then at his meal and sighed to himself, deciding to follow the beast. The last time he'd even seen him he gained a memory, sort of, and if he followed him around for a while then he might get more from it. The thought of stalking Shizuo after all this time of being cooped in his home or over at his work was strange to him, but he shook it off and smiled to himself, glad that he could act how he used to for just one night.

He wrapped his meal up tightly and put it into an inner-pocket of his jacket, picking up the pace so he wouldn't miss them.

* * *

It had been about an hour since Izaya had started stalking his enemy and he could officially say that he was bored of watching the beast get ticked off in less than two seconds then punch his way through a door to get to their subject. It was nice to see a beast going through his natural instincts, don't get him wrong! But watching it happen so often wasn't the most fun he could imagine.

He sighed and stood up from his crouched position on a nearby fire-escape, about to head off and go home before he heard Tom and Shizu-chan actually start talking, something that hadn't been done a lot that night. "So, what's been up with you lately?" Tom asked, looking at his body guard with a genuine curiosity. The beast didn't give him as much of a response.

"Your temper has gotten worse in the past couple weeks. I mean, it's good when we're working sometimes, but.. I was just wondering if anything had happened." he continued, still looking ahead as they walked along. The two continued and Izaya assumed he wasn't going to answer again, seeing as he was reaching for another cigarette.

"Kasuka got a.. he found someone." Shizuo announced awkwardly, though the ravenett wasn't sure if it was because that someone was Izaya or if the concept itself was odd to think about. His boyfriend had never talked about his past love-life before either, he now realized, so it could be likely that he'd never been with anyone before the informant.

"That's great! So, if he got a lover then why are you so upset?" Tom asked, moving to be at his side instead of ahead of his guard. The two stopped near the edge of an alleyway, Izaya silently thanking them as he caught up to a better point and stayed hidden, wondering why Shizuo hadn't sniffed him out yet. The wind picked up as he was thinking, blowing right in his face and answering him.  _Ah.. Guess I just so happened to be down-wind._

Either way, he stayed put as the conversation continued. "What he got isn't a lover, it's a leech. And I would appreciate it not being so damn close to him.." Tom just gave him a look before nodding, putting his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the brick wall beside him.

"So, I take it there's a lot of presents being given, trips being taken, money being asked for.." "No, none of that."

Tom looked at him again with a wide-eyed and silent expression, looking a little more than very confused. "Alright... So, what's this person like then?" he asked slowly, watching Shizuo's face as he gritted his teeth, snapping his cigarette on accident.

"Short, pale and really fucking annoying." was all Shizuo gave him to go on, making Izaya pout and glare at him without even knowing it.  _Okay, maybe I'm pale, but I am not short!_ The informant dragged his attention back to them and let out just a small huff, being sure to remember that little comment later. It seemed that Shizuo had forgotten about Tom being there, now muttering to himself angrily and tapping his foot on the ground. "Stupid little.. If he had never.. How could he ever..." And so forth, Izaya barely even getting half of what he was saying and instead watching Tom's expression to hopefully get a clue.

The blond's boss didn't give him many hints, just throwing him worried glances before he finally cleared his throat. "So, whether you like this person or not, how does Kasuka feel about them?" he asked suddenly, making Shizuo freeze and look at him with the left-over glare that he'd been giving the floor..

"What?" "How does Kasuka feel? Have you talked with him lately?" "Yeah, I talked with him a week ago but.." "But?" "Well, uh.. I didn't really ask how things were with them.."

The look Tom gave Shizuo was one almost to the degree of disappointment, showing clearly in his eyes that he thought better of his co-worker. "Shizuo, you know that's not like you. The guy I hired would be talking to his little brother every day if he could and asking him how his day went and wanting every detail. Even if they made him mad.." Tom muttered to him, leaning his head back to look up at a passing airplane. It got uncomfortably quiet for a few moments and Izaya considered leaving, never thinking he would be getting an intimate conversation out of stalking them, maybe just a couple flashes like he'd gotten before of his past. But despite wanting to leave, his curiosity got the better of him again, making him stay stuck to the wall of the alley near them, listening intently for any changes in what was happening.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not being fair.." Shizuo muttered, surprising the hidden informant. "Kasuka does seem happy, every time I go to see him and he's been with them, he has this big smile on his face... I don't think I've ever seen him smile this much in my life. Even when he was a baby.." Shizuo just kept babbling about it, Izaya feeling warm inside even though he knew Kasuka had been smiling more than usual and getting used to showing emotions in general, some of them being practiced during work or just when they were alone and having silly yet deep conversations.

"Is that what's been upsetting you?"

"No. Not entirely... Look, it's not my place to tell you everything about what's going on, but if you knew at least half of it you would get why I feel like breaking the fucker that's with him apart."

Before anything more can be heard, Izaya shuddered as the wind shifted and tugged at his hair the wrong way, making him frown and try to fix it before there was a sudden silence. Then- "I-za-ya-kuuuuun.."

And without anything else being heard, Izaya was running down the alley, over a trashcan and out of sight without a second thought.


	25. Back To School

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant walked down the street, taking a deep breath as he got closer to somewhere he hadn't been in years. He lifted his head to see his old high school looming ahead of him, various memories already bouncing around but none of them being the one he wanted to find.

Izaya had put together already that the memory he wanted was from his school days, and with how busy he had constantly been while at 'work' and not having any time to slack off, he couldn't have made the memory Kasuka talked about any time after the hour school ended. So, as a last resort of trying to regain his memory, he'd gone all the way back to see if anything in the area would trigger it.

_I just hope I don't get sick again.._

The ravenett prepared himself before heading into the gates and deciding to go back to front, skirting around the tall buildings until he was all the way back towards the track fields and gymnasiums. This place already held a lot of memories, one of them being his meeting with Shizuo, so he smiled to himself lightly as he hopped up on top of a table and looked around from his vantage point.

He knew he wouldn't be getting in trouble for being there either; it was a couple hours after school had let out but it was still early enough for most of the staff to be present and, after rummaging around for a good 20 minutes, he'd found his old school ID; proof that he could have a reason for being there. So, he took his time exploring.

The informant wandered the campus along with the halls, grinning lightly at his many memories he'd had with Shinra, and also memories of asking other students to make Shizuo's life a living hell. He couldn't count how many times the blond had pissed someone off with his short temper and just barely gave them a bruise, yet they still held a grudge on him like he'd broken their entire arm.

_Idiots.. You have no idea how much he was holding out on you._

He kept exploring until he got to his homeroom, peaking in to see that there was no one there before opening the door and stepping inside, glancing around and thinking briefly before he found his old desk.  _Well.. No one's here..._ And with that he hopped onto his old desk with a laugh, sitting cross legged on it like he would do before class started and glancing out the window, imaging Shinra babbling on about some science test they had to take and asking if he wanted to study with him, even if neither of them ever needed to study a day in their life.

Izaya kept up the mental conversation and atmosphere for a moment, his grin turning into a soft smile. "Funny. I almost miss this..." he muttered, watching the world outside before looking around the classroom thoughtfully. Of course he missed this. Back when he'd first returned, this was his only safe place. He had no home to go back to but his tiny office, and no family to go back to except for Shinnosu, if he wasn't busy with some assignment or hanging out with his numerous friends.

When he was at school he didn't have to worry about his boss coming and ordering him to do something against his quickly withering morals, and he didn't need to focus on anything other than passing a very easy test and bothering Shinra constantly, poking him in the back while he was trying to take notes and teasing him about the cute teacher they'd had, even if it was only half-hearted because of Izaya's knowledge about Celty.

The informant ran a hand through his hair as he realized, as stupid as the people around him were and how inferior they were, it was comforting back then to be around someone who wasn't a threat, physically or otherwise. He'd probably spent more hours a day at school and trying to stay in the school's general area than even trying to get a good meal out of the Yakuza.

The ravenett shook his head before sliding off his old desk and glancing at the clock, seeing it had been about an hour and a half already since he arrived. If he didn't hurry up then he'd most likely be kicked out soon. With that thought, he left his old classroom and shut the door, heading down the halls again and going towards the front gate.  _I've been around the entire school and don't remember anything more than when I got here. Maybe the memory was more around Shinra's house..?_

Izaya sighed lightly as he got out of the gate and turned right, about to just walk around town for a while before going to see if Kasuka would take him out for dinner that night. But before he could get anywhere, the train crossing started making noise and lowering it's gates, letting him know to stop. He did and calmly stayed where he was, drifting through his thoughts before there was a pain behind his eyes, spreading quickly through his head and making him groan. He raised a hand up to cover his eyes, wondering if he'd caught the sunlight wrong, before it just got worse and when he opened his eyes to look around he could clearly see Shizuo and Kasuka holding hands again, ready to walk off towards home until he'd called out to them.  _The fuck.._

His eyes widened and he forcibly moved himself out of the way of anyone trying to walk by, leaning against the wall of the school as he kept staring at where he had been, the area around him seeming hyper-realistic from remembering it and looking at it at the same time. For some reason the effect made him feel sick and he closed his eyes again before he could possibly throw up, squeezing them shut and focusing just on the memory instead.

* * *

_"Shizu-chaaaan~" The ravenett called out, watching the beast turn from his position with fists raised, rage already steadily building in his eyes._

_"I-za-ya-kuuun..." Shizuo snarled as Izaya walked closer to him. He just kept grinning mockingly at his enemy as he watched the other trying to control himself. **Why are you holding back, monster?**  Izaya didn't bother wondering for another moment as the beast took a step towards him. He let his flick-blade slide into his hand from his pocket, smirking wider as he opened it for easy use._

_"Why do you look so unhappy to see me Shizu-chan? I thought we had plans, ne~" the student teased, watching Shizuo's eyes narrow at him. Izaya acutely remembered telling that gang to do it **this**  afternoon,  **just**  after school ended.  **Looks like they chickened out, after all..**_

_"No, we didn't, you damn flea! Those 'plans' were you leaving me a note that said 3 guys are gonna jump me at the front gate. Nothing happened, so not only are you a filthy, evil bastard, you're a fucking liar!" the blond seethed, seeming to be using it as a release for his anger, since he still had only taken one more step towards his target. The ravenett was still confused as to why he hadn't tried anything yet, but a glance to the side, eyes locking on a golden pair that seemed to be watching his, gave him an answer. The two didn't look related in any way, the child having dark hair and a calm expression - but Izaya knew better._

_He'd seen pictures of Shizuo when he was little while at Shinra's house, seeing as they knew each other, and back then Shizuo had had hair just a couple shades lighter than the child here. Comparing them then, they looked as similar as two brothers could get without being twins._

_Izaya grinned happily as he looked back at Shizuo after this discovery, not even having to think to know what would upset the beast the most. "Aww, so mean Shizu-chan... And here I thought you would calm down that filthy mouth of yours when there was such a cute little human with you~" he announced, not lying - since the kid was quite a looker, sure to be one in the future as well - but also not really meaning it. The kid was just that, a kid. Even to someone as odd as Izaya, calling them cute would be weird. At least in the way Shizuo obviously took it._

_The blond was charging at him in less than a moment and he threw his flick-blade for protection, seeing it get lodged in his shoulder before Izaya turned and ran, running down the street at high speed with the beast behind him. The student felt a pair on eyes on him still, ones not filled with malice, and chanced a look back to see the kid they'd left behind still standing still where they'd been - eyes trailing Izaya with a bright, curious look that confused him before he turned his attention back on their little chase. **Sorry kid, but you can have your brother back when I'm done with him.** he mentally apologized, dodging a sign that had nearly caught his arm._

* * *

Izaya curled into himself and slid down the wall as the pain in his head got worse, making it hard to focus and just making him tired from trying. He tried to start thinking of something else for a little while, anything, but the headache was still there and he eventually gave up. The informant lowered his head onto his knees and stayed that way for who knows how long before he finally blacked out.


	26. Let Me Love You

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

Kasuka settled down again as Izaya wrapped himself around his boyfriend's arm, making it impossible to move without disrupting him and therefore making it completely useless to the actor. He felt Izaya press into his side and rest his head on his shoulder, making him sigh softly despite how sweet the gesture was.

For the last day and a half Izaya had been acting differently, asking for hugs and kisses more often and pressing against him whenever he could. And while Kasuka loved every moment of it, it was almost worrying. The ravenett hadn't been answering his calls the day before yesterday until some time in the late evening and even when he asked what had happened for him to ignore the other so long, he hadn't gotten an answer.

Kasuka had just assumed it was something work related and let it slide at the time, but now with him acting even more clingy and still not giving a reason to why, the sweet treatment almost made Kasuka feel suffocated. He felt Izaya muzzle into his shoulder and he ran a hand through his hair, finally feeling irritated by it. "Izaya, are you alright?" he asked softly, still loving then other too much to let him think he was doing something wrong.

And Kasuka personally knew that if he reprimanded him for giving affection then he wouldn't be getting any more for a good amount of time.

The informant just looked up at him, slightly confused before he nodded and went back to snuggling him. "Of course I'm alright. Why do you ask?" He murmured, looking perfectly content where he was. Kasuka almost didn't want to ask and disturb that peace but he wanted an answer.

"No real reason. You just seem really.. touchy lately." he improvised, not wanting to use the word 'clingy' either. The actor waited patiently for Izaya to do something but it was almost like he'd ignored him, not answering to the comment and just relaxing against him again. The ravenett waited a moment before trying again. "Did something happen the other day when I called? You sounded really tired and-"

"Kasuka, please. I'm trying to say thank you, that's all..." Izaya blurted out, effectively making the actor go quiet next to him. Kasuka was frozen for a second before he nodded, trying to piece together what he could be thanking him for.  _He already thanked me for taking care of him, so it probably isn't that.. I took him out for dinner the other night, but I teased him the whole time so I doubt it... We haven't really done anything else._ "I'm saying thank you for being with me, so don't read too much into it." Izaya announced again, making Kasuka chuckle from the recurring thought that he could sometimes read his mind.  _I guess it's only fair though. I can read him pretty well when I need to._

"You don't need to thank me for that though. I'm still trying to thank you for saying yes when you found out." It was true. He'd always be looking at things to try and buy for Izaya, or maybe even make himself if it seemed doable and like something that he would enjoy. Kasuka almost always backed out though, never fully knowing if the man would even like it or not. It was a mystery that always made him second-guess what he was thinking about getting, imagining Izaya being too nice to his significant other to just say he didn't like it, then accepting it with a smile before throwing it away somewhere.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen those alpacas he'd won Izaya since their trip. "Hey Izaya, you know when we went to the festival?"

"Un."

"What did you do with those alpacas?" the actor asked, hoping Izaya really hadn't thrown them away like he thought. His boyfriend had seemed so happy when he got them too, it hurt to just think of Izaya faking it. But he didn't need to worry, Izaya thought for a second before lighting up again and letting go of his arm.

"I put one upstairs in my closet so Namie wouldn't find it. And the other one's in my bed-side table, since it fits." he explained, standing up without a second thought and heading upstairs, most likely to grab said alpaca. Kasuka just stayed where he was, smiling to himself softly.  _At least he liked those._ The actor perked up again when he came down with one of them in his hands, laying down on the couch and resting his head in Kasuka's lap while he held it.

"Hey Kasuka, is it normal for humans to name these things? Because I haven't given them one." Izaya muttered beside him, forcing Kasuka to hold in a small laugh.

"Yeah, they usually do but you don't need to. It's mostly just for those who want to play with them a lot." the actor hummed, glancing at the plushie before leaning his head back and relaxing while they could. The two had to go to work again the next day, and with things still being hectic from lost time and mixed up schedules, they had a lot to look forward to one set for about the next week.

"Hm.. Well, I don't plan on 'playing' with them, but I wouldn't mind thinking of names for them." Izaya noted, rolling over so he was facing Kasuka's stomach instead of the TV. They hadn't turned it on before, just cuddling and having small chats, so he wouldn't miss a thing. Kasuka stayed quiet while he listened to his boyfriend hum, shifting every once in a while as he thought. "I got it. I'll name this one Bonnie, and the purple one Clyde." the informant finally announced, getting a small fit of laughter out of the actor he was laying on.

"You're referring to your alpaca-self as Bonnie now?" "Who said I was the green one?" "I just thought you were. Why are you the purple one, then?" "I look awful in green, Kasuka.." "Ah."


	27. Come On Over

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

The actor drug himself up onto his elbows as he heard a knock on the door, grimacing from him and his boyfriend being disrupted. It wasn't like they were being frisky in the first place, just soft kisses being shared after a long four days of work and repetition, seeing as their boss had decided to be fickle this time and change the script maybe every couple hours - but he still would have liked to stay how they were for a while longer. Four days of late rehearsal and practice and fittings, along with the 'meeting' he'd had to go to for his manager to get him a guest spot on some apparently famous show which was really disguised as being invited out for dinner with his colleagues. Those meetings were the worst for him, always making him too anxious to actually be hungry.. After all that, he couldn't just get a calm night with Izaya, could he?

He was dragged away from his thoughts, and the informant that was teasingly holding onto him so he couldn't move away from the couch, by a second knock on his door and he sighed, walking to answer it. Kasuka checked himself in the mirror quickly before getting it though; it wouldn't be the first time that some paparazzi had been bold enough to come to his door and try to ask him questions along with taking their pictures and he didn't want to look more disheveled than someone would probably getting out of bed.

When he opened the door though, he froze, not sure what to say as he saw his big brother standing on the other side.  _Oh fucking shit, I forgot.._

"Hey Kasuka, can I come in?" Shizuo asked, seeming to not know that his enemy was currently in the other room, which Kasuka was thankful for. Well, he was thankful for a split second- after that second passed he was just nervous.  _Fuuuck, why did I forget we were having dinner here.. What should I do?_

The blond obviously hadn't smelled Izaya in his home yet but that wouldn't last long, if his sense of smell was anywhere near as good as Kasuka had experienced.  _Maybe he's gotten so used to me smelling like him, he won't notice if Izaya sneaks out.._

"Hey, earth to Kasuka! You alright?" Shizuo asked, leaning in and pressing his hand onto his little brother's forehead, checking for a fever. The other took it away when he seemed to be fine. "If you're busy then just say so. I can't blame you for being popular, otōto." Kasuka noticed that despite his calm words he did look disappointed, well hidden behind grabbing a fresh cigarette and having his shades still on.

"No, no. Come in." Kasuka insisted, moving aside so he could and being extremely tense until Shizuo turned to go right into the kitchen like he was hoping for. "Sorry I don't have anything being made yet, I um.. I took a nap and just woke up." the actor apologized, glancing over into the living room to see that Izaya either wasn't there or was extremely well hidden. He bit his lip and wondered if he should look for him before ducking into the kitchen with his brother.

"Nah, it's fine. Knowing you, you can make a great dinner in 15 minutes." "Please, in 15 minutes I  _might_  make a sandwich.."

Kasuka got started on making food and having small talk with his brother as he continuously cast glances at both doors to the kitchen, wondering where his boyfriend had disappeared to so quickly without telling him. After getting the food prepped and having it in the oven, he finally couldn't keep standing there, about to break from the tension. "I'll be right back, 'kay?" he asked, getting a nod before leaving and scurrying around the main floor of his home to try and find his boyfriend as fast as possible.

On his way back into the living room, he glanced up to see Izaya waving to him from the top of the stairs, frantically gesturing for him to come up as well so they could talk. The actor took a deep breath before doing just that, stepping into the hallway at the top so Shizuo wouldn't see him.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Izaya demanded softly, not sounding pissed like Kasuka expected and currently just sounding confused. Kasuka just sighed.

"With all the shit going on at work I forgot I invited him over for dinner tonight.. Now what should we do?" the ravenett asked, looking at the informant as he peaked down the stairs to see if Shizuo had started wandering around yet.

"Well.. He can't get too mad if he just sees me leaving right? I mean, I would be doing exactly what he wants." Izaya pointed out, shifting as he fiddled with his fingers. Kasuka reached forward and held one of his hands quickly, not wanting him to revert to his second outlet for anxiousness, which would be scratching at his wrists. The informant just gave him a small smile for that before glancing down the stairs again.

"I guess you're right.. I'm really sorry about this." the actor murmured, wishing his boyfriend and brother could just get along, at least enough for this not to be an issue. Izaya gave his hand a squeeze and leaned forward to kiss him, keeping it short and sweet before pulling away.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I'll just grab my stuff and go." Izaya decided, untwining their hands before heading down the stairs with him. Both of them paled as Shizuo picked the worst moment to come out of the kitchen, wondering where his brother ran off to. The blond gave one look into the living room before scowling, looking directly at Izaya.

"You didn't tell me he was here." Shizuo growled, making Kasuka step closer to his boyfriend and hold onto his wrist as Izaya ignored the brute, just grabbing his cellphone as planned and putting it into his pocket.

"He was just leaving, aniki.." Kasuka muttered, glancing between them before walking Izaya towards the door. It wasn't like he wanted his boyfriend to leave, and it was obvious Izaya didn't want to go anywhere either, but Kasuka frowned lightly at the fact that if they decided to start fighting or if Shizuo lost his temper as badly as he had over a month ago, then Kasuka wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He wasn't as fast as Izaya was and he wasn't anywhere near as strong as his brother was, so he would be powerless if he didn't keep the peace between them somehow.

What happened next surprised him though, feeling Shizuo's hand on his shoulder and looking up to see a very hesitant glare on the blond's face. "He doesn't have to fucking leave. The flea can stay if you want." his brother got out, saying it through gritted teeth but looking determined. And as much as Kasuka wanted to smile at that, he just couldn't. He cast a questioning look over to Izaya, who was half-way between the two brothers and the front door, both of them wondering what they should do.

"Well... I did make enough lasagna.." Kasuka got out awkwardly, staying where he was as he waited for Izaya to say something. Shizuo waited for him too, glancing at the ravenett by the door with a glare, most likely hoping he left and didn't up the offer at all. The informant however didn't think twice about straightening up and smiling at them, back to acting like his usual self for the moment.

"I would love to stay for dinner. After all, Kasuka's the best cook, ne~" Izaya announced, coming closer again and taking Kasuka's hand, entwining their fingers tightly as he led the ravenett back into the kitchen. The hand on his shoulder only tightened for a second before letting go of him, Kasuka being able to feel the intense glare on the back of his head that would move up to glare at Izaya's back as well. The actor gulped as they all settled down at the kitchen table while they waited for the lasagna to be done, Kasuka sitting between them to try and make things easier.

_Why do I feel like I just signed my own death certificate?_


	28. Time Out

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

Kasuka shifted in his seat as the silence went on for another moment around them, not sure how to handle the situation he was in.

Shizuo was just sitting across the table from them, arms crossed as he glared the ravenett beside his little brother, while Izaya was either ignoring him completely or intentionally shoving his status with Kasuka in the other's face, still holding hands with him before leaning over to rest his head on the actor's shoulder.

_Why did this have to be the one time I forget about having dinner with him? Even when I've had work before I didn't forget, I always remember things like this! ..Well, I at least remember the morning I'm supposed to do it usually._

He looked up at his brother again, wishing he'd take off his sunglasses for a minute so he could tell if he was glaring at the both of them or just Izaya. Finally, Kasuka cleared his throat. "So, aniki, how was your day?" the smaller Heiwajima asked, smiling lightly to try and break up the tension. His intention didn't really work but at least it got one of them talking.

"It was fine. Most of the guys I had to collect from were actually willing to work with us, so we didn't have any property damage to worry about." Shizuo explained, getting a nod out of him and nothing out of Izaya at the moment.

"That's good. Maybe people are finally coming to their sense lately." Kasuka hummed, glancing over at his boyfriend as the ravenett finally had a reaction.

"Or they were just more scared than usual and didn't want to be killed." Izaya offered, giving a smile to the blond as the other's glare got more intense before he just went back to holding one of Kasuka's hands, pulling out his phone to check it causally.

"Scared or not, I did my fucking job. Where have you been for the last week? I haven't smelled ya terrorizing the locals lately." Shizuo pointed out, arms still crossed and one hand gripping his arm so he wouldn't use it to damage something else. Kasuka took notice immediately and flicked his hand like he'd always done since they were children.

"Aniki, don't do that. You'll hurt yourself." he said automatically, not even thinking before he glanced at the both of them, seeing that he'd gotten their attention. "Nevermind.." he muttered, liking that they hadn't tried killing each other yet but not liking when he was the center of attention in such a hostile atmosphere. Izaya nodded before glancing at Shizuo, who had listened to his little brother's warning and lessen his grip, a smirk coming onto his face and a devious look in his eyes.

"If you must know where I've been, which is none of your business, I was under the weather for most of the week. And your darling little brother was so sweet while taking care of me~" the informant announced, staring at Shizuo too intently to notice the blush that went on Kasuka's face.  _Uggh, don't tell him that!_

Shizuo didn't respond to that, just growling something under his breath and trying to kill Izaya with his eyes as the room got quiet again, for once the silence feeling welcome. Nothing was said for a while until the oven dinged, letting them know the lasagna was ready, and Kasuka stood up to get it out and onto their plates, hoping the food would be a good enough distraction.

In the time it took for him to get up and over to the oven, there was a small thumping sound somewhere behind him. Since it wasn't very loud and didn't sound like someone at his door, maybe someone outside being troublesome, he ignored it and just kept preparing their meal until- "Flea, if you don't stop fucking kicking me you're going to lose that foot!"

"Only my foot, Shizu-chan? I thought you'd go for the whole leg." "Don't make a request if you can't handle it, you fucker."

Kasuka turned back to look at them, eyes wide as he expected them to be at each other's throats already. He was pleasantly surprised when they were both still firmly planted in the chairs he'd left them in, continuing with their little staring match from where they were.  _This is going better than I expected, but they're acting like Kindergartners..._

The actor sighed softly before turning back to their food and plating it, setting it in front of them before they could take any action against the other. "Eat up, there's plenty more." he announced, smiling at them both as he sat down again. Him and Shizuo clapped their hands together and muttered "itadakimasu" before digging in, it only occurring to them a moment later that Izaya had said it as well. Kasuka didn't even think about it but Shizuo seemed interested.

"Flea, I thought you didn't believe in gods." the blond pointed out, actually seeming too interested to be hostile, taking a bite of his food as he watched the informant diagonal to him. Izaya's hand twitched like he wanted to throw his fork at Shizuo just like one of his flick-blades, but he started eating his meal instead.

"Excuse me for still being raised to do Japanese customs. Besides, I was thanking Kasuka." Izaya replied blankly, giving Shizuo a look that was something between 'shut the fuck up' and 'why does it matter?' Kasuka just glanced between the two quietly as he ate, wondering if they would go back to ignoring each other soon. They seemed to after a couple minutes, Shizuo throwing one last glare at Izaya before taking a large bite off his plate and Izaya looking around the kitchen like he was bored.

_Holy fuck, they're actually being civil... Either I'm dying or the world is ending._ The actor thought to himself as he kept looking between them, smiling lightly as he ate now.  _Maybe if I keep having them stuck together like this they'll get along._

That train of thought was interrupted when the small thumping came back and Izaya jumped in his seat a couple seconds afterwards. "Ow! I didn't stomp on you!" the informant huffed, pulling his feet back to tuck behind the legs of his chair as he glared at the blond. Shizuo scoffed as he leaned back in his chair, his plate currently empty.

"I told you you'd lose your foot if you kept kicking me." "I didn't kick you, I kicked the chair." "Well, my shin says otherwise!"

Kasuka watched them blankly as he finished his last bite, trying very hard not to facepalm as he got up to put his plate in the sink. "Both of you cut it out before I call Celty." Kasuka threatened, seeing the two enemies pause before looking at him in shock, neither of them knowing that he even had the Dullahan's number. He'd met Shinra through his brother when he'd gotten sick before, so it shouldn't be that much of a surprise that he'd spotted a headless woman walking around when she lived with the brunet.

The threat seemed to work though, both of them knowing well that if she was called to handle either of them she wouldn't have a problem. Yes, they were both friends with her but she had a very open sense of justice, it seemed. "Fine.." the two muttered, Izaya finishing up his plate while Shizuo moved to get more food. Kasuka smiled to himself as they behaved themselves for a while more, holding his boyfriend's hand under the table while he talked casually with Shizuo.

After Shizuo finished his second plate of food, he stood up and put his dish in the sink as well, looking over at his brother. "Thanks for the food, otōto. You want to hang out at my place next time?" the blond asked, getting a nod in return.

"Yeah, sounds like fun. Is there a new game you want to try?" Kasuka asked, hoping he'd get a hint. He knew that his older brother didn't get paid enough to buy extra games or anything like that, mostly just using his own money for food and cigarettes, so he always tries to get him something when he had the chance.

"Not really, all the ones coming out are shit. Thanks though." the blond replied, moving over to him and ruffling his little brother's hair before heading towards the front door. Kasuka trailed behind him to say farewell and didn't notice Izaya following behind them with a grin.

"Have a nice night, aniki." "You too, Kasuka. Stay safe." "I'll be sure to take care of him, Shizu-chan~" Izaya announced beside the ravenett, hugging his arm as he leaned over to press a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek. Kasuka blushed from the sudden affection while Shizuo stared at him with a shocked expression, it quickly changing to one of rage as he fist clenched.

"I-za-ya-kuun..." Shizuo started, getting cut off by Kasuka.

"U-uhm bye aniki, see you next week!" Kasuka yelped, shutting the door before Shizuo could come back in or see Izaya still hugging and kissing the ravenett. "Izaya, you're going to get us both killed..."

"Whatever. He can't catch me and he would never hurt you, so let the beast bark all he wants~" "Seriously though, you're evil." "I hear that a lot. But you still love me." "Yeah, I do...~"


	29. Good Afternoon, Doctor!

_[Kasuka's POV]_

"Sorry Kasu-kun, I'll catch up in a little bit." Izaya called back to him as he ran down the street, a blond debt collector hot on his heels. The ravenett just watched them go with a roll of his eyes, happy that nothing had really changed since the dinner they'd all had together. Not that he enjoyed watching Shizuo throw trash-cans at his boyfriend, but it was nice for things to be normal around here.

The actor went on ahead once they were out of sight, heading to the ramen shop the two had attended for their first date and waiting in line for the both of them so they could get right inside once Izaya popped up from their little chase. Kasuka glanced around before smiling to himself, wondering if it was even more odd to think something so abnormal was the only normal thing in this city. His brother and boyfriend had been fighting so long it was almost like they were born to do it, Kasuka just happened to get the pleasure of knowing them both and being occasionally caught in the middle of it.

It had been about 3 days since they all had dinner together and the couple had been enjoying the weekend until Shizuo came up with his boss, apparently still working at that time, and had interrupted their little outing with a warning sign being thrown over both of their heads, just to give them a heads-up before the blond actually aimed for the informant wrapped around his arm. And even if his boyfriend was probably across town at the moment because of his elder sibling, he wasn't mad.

Kasuka finally got let inside and slipped the server a 20 so she wouldn't say anything to her boss about waiting for the other too long. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through some media sites while he waited for Izaya to let him know he was on his way back, not even having to wait half an hour for the text to come.

**[I'll be right there! The idiot didn't see me go under a bridge.]**

**[Why would you go under a bridge? I thought you hated germs.]**

**[It looks like a very nice bridge, thank you very much. And don't say stuff like that, it'll make my skin crawl.]**

**[If it still makes your skin crawl then it must not be that nice of a bridge.]**

Kasuka smiled to himself again from their playful banter, tapping his foot under the table. He'd gotten them one in the corner this time since he didn't want to risk another interruption from a fan if they spotted him. It was torture to be suddenly taken away from his lover last time, so he didn't want to chance it. He doubted that in such a crowded place they would be able to swarm him like before, but you never know…

The actor waited and waited until he saw Izaya's signature jacket in the door and waved him over, both of them sharing a grin as Kasuka moved for him to sit on the other side. After their first date they'd unconsciously started sitting in a certain order so they could hold hands while eating, and eventually they just accepted that it would be one of their special habits. Like his and Shizuo's knock.

Kasuka stopped his thoughts when he noticed Izaya was still breathing heavier than usual, even though he'd been sitting for a couple minutes already. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked. The informant looked up at him and nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Guess I just need some more exercise." he chuckled, looking away from him as the server came to ask what they wanted. They got their orders down and started chatting again, Kasuka asking where he'd left his brother and how much they broke on the way there, pleased when there was little property damage this time since Shizuo had held onto a stop-sign for a good part of their chase and was swinging it like a bat instead of throwing it.

Things continued as they got their food and Kasuka was about to ask him how his informant business was going when he caught his boyfriend wincing, making Kasuka's eyes widen. Izaya hadn't said anything about Shizuo actually knicking him this time so it was quite concerning.

"You okay?" "Yeah, I'm-" "Izaya." Kasuka muttered, in a much lower tone than usual that obviously startled the ravenett. The informant wilted a bit before glancing at his food.

"Before you ask; no, Shizuo didn't get me this time. On the way back here I met up with someone who didn't get the good end of my services." Izaya admitted slowly, taking a bite of his ramen and then a bite of his fatty tuna - Kasuka had ordered him some just in case he wanted it later.

"How bad did he get you? You barely even flinch when Shizuo hits you with a trashcan." the actor went on, looking over his boyfriend even though it wouldn't help. Being fully clothed and in a public place wasn't the easiest scenario for finding out himself.

"Kasuka, I'm fine. Really. I've had a lot worse." "That doesn't make me worry less…"

Izaya glanced up at him again before holding in a small laugh, finishing the food in his mouth before leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for worrying, but-" "Holy shit, you're bleeding!" Kasuka suddenly exclaimed, having moved his hand to wrap around Izaya for a hug, his fingers pressing onto a wet patch on the man's shirt and pulling away to have specks of red on it.

"Don't be so loud.." "But you're hurt! I'm calling Shinra." "Kasuka, can't we just finish-" "No. We can't. You're smart enough to know that already."

Kasuka stared at his boyfriend for a moment, with such a serious expression that it stopped the other from making any kind of comeback. "Alright.. Are you gonna call Celty to pick me up? I don't think walking all the way there would be very good for me either.." Izaya admitted, making Kasuka smile as he finally saw reason.

The actor took his boyfriend's hand again and began walking out of the building, already on the phone with Shinra. "Sir, you need to pay for this!" "Put it on a tab." Kasuka dismissed, heading down the stairs with his boyfriend.

* * *

"Really, you can get into all kinds of trouble, can't you?" "You should know that better than anyone, Shinra~" "True. But still, how do you get stabbed and just keep going like that!? It should at least hurt a little.." "Oh it hurt, trust me."

"Then why did you just come back to the restaurant!?" Kasuka questioned, still fussing over him as they sat on the couch in Shinra's apartment.

"Because we were on a date, and I wanted to keep it that way." Izaya huffed, glaring at him. Kasuka didn't take offense though, knowing it was the only second option, seeing as in Shinra's place the informant couldn't pout freely.

**[Wait, you guys are dating!?]**

Kasuka recoiled when a phone was shoved in front of their faces, making him cross-eyed for a moment as he tried to read it before pushing her hand away a little bit. "Yes, we are. And we have been for over a month now." the actor explained, seeing as Izaya was currently scrunching his nose up from having peroxide placed on the wound, now stitched up properly and healing.

The headless rider beside them still looked shock, fingers hesitating as she was about to type the next message. Finally,  **[Why didn't you tell us, Izaya?]**

"Because it was none of your business. And you would have found out eventually, I mean you know me, Kasuka  _and_ Shizu-chan. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out already." the informant admitted, running a hand through his hair to straighten it out. The ride from the ramen shop over to Shinra's apartment had gone even faster than usual, seeing as Izaya needed actual medical attention and the wind didn't do anything kind to his hair.

Shinra and Celty shared a look, then Shinra grinned as Celty started writing.  **[So, you done anything?]**

Kasuka immediately face-palmed. "Don't tell me, you've been hanging out with aniki too much…" the actor groaned, getting a confused look from the ravenett beside him.

"What did Shizu-chan say?" "Nothing.." "It was obviously something!" "No, not really." "Kasukaaa!"

There was a jab in his side and he winced as the two before them shared another glance, Shinra looking like he was about to crack up. "And it seems Izaya spends too much time with my dear Celty!" There was another jab taken, but this time not to Kasuka.

"Well, aren't we all one big, happy family? But seriously, what did he say?" "We'll talk about it later." Kasuka laughed as he watched Shinra recover from the blow to his torso. The doctor and actor shared a slightly pained smile before Kasuka leaned back and made sure Izaya was alright as the brunet wrapped a gauze around the area of his torso that had been stabbed.

"Things look just fine now. You know the drill Izaya, call us immediately if you find blood on anything besides a couple specks on your bandages, and if you feel pain in general just after taking the pills. I'll go get you some more." Shinra prattled on, already walking away half-way through the sentence since this was such a common situation. Izaya just hummed to show he'd heard him and relaxed into Kasuka's side, eyes closing as he began to look tired.

"Are you sure you didn't lose too much blood or anything?" "That was the first thing he checked, Kasu-kun." "Yeah, but what if he did it wrong..?" "If he's been doing something wrong since high-school, I'm pretty sure me and your brother could and should be dead at this point." "Right."

**[You two look like a perfect couple somehow.]**

Izaya and Kasuka glanced at each other at that, sharing a smile as they both agreed.


	30. Sorry, Shara

_ [Izaya's POV] _

_Uggh.. This fuckin' sucks._ Izaya mentally groaned, opening his eyes from sleep to a pain in his side that had been present for four days and could only be fixed with the fast-acting pain killer that Shinra had given him. He didn't want to get up and get them himself, seeing as it would just be more painful in the process, but if he didn't then he would have to take them once he got up for work anyways and hope they kicked in by the time he got on set so he wouldn't be wincing wherever he walked and alerting Dong-Yul to the pain he was in.

God forbid that man think something had happened to him again, Kasuka was the only thing stopping him last time from marching along right after 'Kobayashi' to her home and taking care him himself. And sure, relying on Kasuka while they were both on set wasn't all that bad, but having to do it all the time just made him irritated.

So, the ravenett pushed himself up and hissed softly, barely paying attention to the little plushie that rolled away from him when he did. Izaya glanced at it and smiled, pulling the green Alpaca to his chest as he waited for the pain to go down a bit, letting him know he could stand up and walk to the bathroom. He got his pills as quickly as possible and pulled on his clothes for the day as well before heading downstairs and almost tripping over himself on the way to the kitchen, shoving open his fridge door to see what was inside.

The ravenett noted blankly that there wasn't any meat in the fridge, having slowly gotten used to not eating while he was around Kasuka, which was most of the time. It wasn't a great loss, he never really loved it in the first place, but he did order steak sometimes when out and about. Izaya pulled together a breakfast for himself and ate quickly, calling a cab to come pick him up before slipping on his shoes and heading outside. He was going to be awfully early for work that day but he really couldn't give a damn. At least if the people there saw him wincing from something, unlike Namie, they would show concern for him and just get him absolutely anything he needed. Plus, Kasuka was probably already there.

Izaya had no idea when he blanked out in the cab but he was shaken awake all too soon when he was at his destination, paying the man and stumbling inside before he collapsed on his couch. "Fuuck, why aren't the pills working yet?" he grumbled to himself, staring at the wall in boredom until he heard more people showing up to start filming, letting him know to sit up and tough it out while he got work done.

He could barely focus on the paper in front of him as he read over his lines, wanting to go back to sleep. The informant almost nodded off a second time until there was a knock on his door, probably Kasuka to see if he was alright again. So far his boyfriend had tried his best to not fuss over the man  _too_  much, seeing as he knew it was annoying from experience, but he still made a point to check on Izaya every morning and a little after lunch if they didn't see each other much that certain day. All the same, Izaya couldn't be more grateful for it now.

Except, instead of his boyfriend, someone unwelcome was standing there in his place; Dong-Yul, holding a few roses out to him the moment he opened the door. "Good morning, Kobayashi-san~" he said cheerfully, still holding out the flowers for Izaya to take. He did eventually, after glancing a few times passed him to see if Kasuka was coming yet, disappointed to see he still hadn't shown up.

"Thank you, these are very nice." he said automatically, slowly getting used to being polite to people even if he didn't want to be. Most of the people he worked with had managed to tick him off at some point in the last couple months of working there, so anyone at any given time was on his list to ignore completely, but he still had to tolerate the ones that talked to him. Like Shara.  _Speaking of which, where has she been? I'll have to check later._

"Really? I'm glad you like them! I noticed you like to wear red sometimes so I just thought you wo-" Izaya started tuning him out after that, leaning against his doorway more heavily as he waited for him to finish, twirling the flowers in his hand and touching the petals since they were real, making them soft to the touch. Dong-Yul was going on about flowers and how they have different meanings and things like that, nothing Izaya cared to listen to either. His attention, along with Dong-Yul's, was caught by their director who came in looking unusually sullen. He had called out to the people nearby for their attention, asking one of the helpers to gather the rest of the workers to come listen to him.

"Everyone, I have something to inform you.. Me, along with others running this set, have been told that Orikane Shara has passed away. If you want to know the details, then just ask me, but I wanted to let anyone who knew her personally know at once. I am sorry for all of your loss.." Mr. Watane said aloud, looking around at the crowd until his eyes set on Izaya, obviously thinking he would have some kind of connection to her since she had been working with him this whole time.

On the contrary, he didn't feel sad or depressed, he didn't even feel triumphant that one of the troublesome people here were finally gone. To his own surprise, he just felt empty. The informant glanced at the tech director beside him, not sure what to say or even sure if he wanted to say anything, then suddenly turned and went back to his dressing room, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

The ravenett dropped back where he had been before, script still cast to the side nearby. He stared off into space and recalled his assistant, a short girl who always had her hair in pig-tails and always wore clothes that didn't quite match. She would have been the perfect subject for him to off before getting this job, and she could have made quite a good friend to someone working with her, if that someone was anything but him. But the more he thought about it, the more he noticed he hadn't even payed attention to her, only knowing her name so he could call on her and get her to get him something he wanted. That wasn't what bothered him, at least not completely, but what did was exactly his first thought - he never paid attention to her.

Izaya, one of the strongest men in Ikebukuro, a greatly-feared informant who could get anyone killed, maimed, shot or convinced to do the previous to themselves with such a large smile on his face - had not paid attention to such an easy target. He'd never even thought of it after the third week here, seeing most of the people as neutral game sine he was working on set - but that also mainly applied to people with an important part.

Dong-Yul could tell him everything about the set, top to bottom, with almost nothing wrong in his inspection. Mr. Watane was his boss, obviously, and besides that held a lot of persuasive power if Izaya ever felt like exploiting it. Kasuka was currently his boyfriend, but even before that, being his co-star, he had never made Izaya's mental list of people who he could tip off.

But Shara? She would have been so easy. It could have taken only a very few choice words to get her and let Izaya have a laugh, but he didn't even talk to her harshly. He'd just waved her off and asked for her assistance when he needed it. And it was just so frighteningly unlike himself, that he couldn't look passed it.

For the first time a long while, he looked down at himself, then at his dressing room and his eyes landed on the script next to him, still waiting to be memorized. "What the fuck am I doing...?"


	31. Open Your Eyes

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The ravenett sat silently in his dressing room for a little while longer, thoughts running through his head and all of them making his skin crawl. He had no idea how long he'd been alone before there was another knock on his door, this time not waiting for him to answer it. The door opened and Dong-Yul stepped in, seeing him looking off into space and moving to crouch down in front of him for his full attention. "Kobayashi-san?" he asked tentatively, seeing Izaya's eyes focus again as he really looked at the man in front of him. "Mr. Watane said that you can have an easy day, if you don't want to record. And if you want then you could go back home for a little while.." he announced, waiting patiently until he got a small nod from Izaya.

"Y-yeah.. I think I want to go home." Izaya muttered, just wanting to get away for a while so he could think. Everything around him was just giving him a headache and the only thing he was grateful for was that the pain in his side had finally gone away.

"Alright, I'll go let him know." the korean replied, getting up and heading out again after pausing like he wanted to say something else as well. Izaya stared where he was for a second before standing and grabbing his things, heading right back outside again and ignoring the people that tried to talk with him.  _Can't you see I want to be alone!?_

He huffed to himself, not sure why the simple act irritated him so quickly, but pushed it away as he got into a cab again and hesitated on saying his address. The informant gave him a different location before they took off, heading to Ikebukuro.

* * *

Izaya stepped out and walked inside Russia Sushi quickly, giving a tired smirk to Simon as the dark man greeted him and asked if he wanted some sushi. "No, I'm not hungry. But, can I head upstairs for a while?" Izaya asked, trying to sound like his usual self even though that never worked on the russian. Simon watched him for a moment before leaning on the counter.

"Why you no want sushi? Sushi cheers you up! Have sushi." Simon demanded, turning around to order him some fatty tuna despite what he'd asked. Izaya just rolled his eyes slightly.

"Thanks for that, Simon. Still, can I go upstairs? I just want to lay down. I can eat your sushi up there too." the informant insisted, refusing to sound like he was begging the man. Truthfully he just didn't want to be around anyone, but that would involve staying outside for who-knows-how-long since Kasuka had found out where he kept his spare key. After another moment of watching him, Simon nodded and guided him upstairs to a guest room where he could sleep, giving the ravenett a pat on the head before going back down to run his business and probably scare some more tourists on the street by accident.

Izaya was just relieved that he was by himself again, dropping onto the guest bed and staring at the wall as thoughts began running amuck again.

_You're losing your touch, Izaya._

_You've gone soft._

_You should have been doing your job and getting rid of all the weak humans still around, and where have you been? Playing fucking dress-up!_

_Some God you are..._

Izaya curled in on himself at the last thought, feeling sick to his stomach. He'd never thought he was a true god, gods don't exist after all, but he did always think he was something akin to one. He could convince anyone to do anything he wanted, and that power only came to the strongest of people. If he wanted it to happen, he could make half the economy drop just from terrorizing politicians and corporation-owners until they dropped themselves as well. He could do anything...

Except now he didn't know if he could. Shara dying wasn't something traumatic for him, honestly he didn't give a fuck if she was really dead or running around Pompeii on vacation to get away from the shitty pay they probably gave her. But it did let him know that he hadn't convinced anyone of anything in months.

He hadn't gotten anyone to kill themselves. He hadn't pushed someone into depression. He hadn't destroyed lives and tormented souls like he was born to do. He hadn't done his one true job; weeding out the humans and making this world better, at least making this world more interesting for the next God that could surpass him.

But what  _had_  he done in the last couple months?

Izaya had been skipping around in female clothing, doing meaningless memorizing and executing for a camera. He'd been ignoring his boss, the only one that could ever truly kill him and had been playing nice with Shizu-chan and his family, the one that really  _should_  be the only one to kill him. He'd been letting Namie get off work with full pay still, letting Shinra and Celty morph into the back of his mind like they didn't exist sometimes, even ignored Shizu-chan for a good point and most of this only because he'd done something so disgustingly human that he's ashamed he hadn't even realized it until now.

He'd found Kasuka. He'd found someone that interested him solely for being them and that loved him, somehow, for who he was and fell into the worst fucking trap possible of developing an emotion he used to exploit to no end. He was a God, it shouldn't be possible to love someone. It shouldn't be possible to want to be near someone so much when there was nothing to exploit. It shouldn't be possible for him to feel empty when he wasn't near him. And it should certainly be impossible for that one human to drag him into becoming human as well, without even noticing it.

Those last thoughts struck a cord in him, it made his eyes narrow and his body feel cold as he curled up tighter on the bed and covered himself with the blanket so that if Simon walked in he wouldn't see him like this.

He was supposed to be all powerful, his intellect and cognitive skills beyond anyone he currently knew, his wits keeping him safe and in control of those he used it against, his emotions like a steel cage and unmoving as he watched people kill themselves and prior pushed them to doing it. He was supposed to be a God, someone everyone could look up to and worship for simply existing, even if they cursed him at times. But now... He was nothing.

Now, he was a human. He felt fear and love and pain and embarrassment and true happiness, all from another human that he'd gotten attached to. And he couldn't blame Kasuka. No, he could never do that.. Kasuka didn't even know what he was doing. He had been feeling all of these emotions his whole life, like most people do, and acting on them in the way he'd thought would work best - it was completely natural and Izaya couldn't blame him for a second for doing something that everyone did.

The informant could only blame himself for falling so far down from the perch he'd been on. Now, he just needed to decide if he could climb back up or if he could live with stumbling around on the floor and letting another take his place while he was still there to see it.


	32. Tricked Ya

_[Izaya's POV]_

The informant sat at his desk, safely inside his home once more as he gathered information for Shiki on the leader of a gang that was getting too close to the Yakuza's territory for his liking. He had been doing this since 6 in the morning and it was currently noon, the clock letting him know that he should stop and get lunch but his mind telling him to stay where he was and finish up before even considering that he should move. Namie cast a glance at him from the corner of her eye from where she sat at her own desk, but for once didn't say anything as she kept filing.

After another half an hour, she stood up and slid on her purse. "Hey, I'm going to grab some lunch. Do you want me to bring something back?" she asked, looking at him blankly and probably expecting a snarky comment of her really having feelings. She didn't get one and just got a wave goodbye in it's place, ruby eyes still stuck to the computer screen.

This had been happening for the last two days since Izaya had called his work and said he wouldn't be coming in until next Monday, giving him enough time to complete countless assignments that he'd been backed up on for the past month and pleasing Shiki to no end. Namie was obviously irritated that she had to come in and work full days again, but after seeing Izaya with bags under his eyes and not a smirk to be seen, she hadn't protested while inside his home.

Now, however, she had had enough of it.

She went over to her boss' desk and slammed her hands down on it, finally getting his attention again as he jumped, his eyes meeting hers. "Izaya, you're getting food. What the fuck do you want?" she demanded, watching him intently.

"Thank you for the offer Namie, but I don't want any food from-" "Izaya, your stomach hasn't shut the fuck up since I got here  _yesterday_! You look like death and you probably haven't gotten an hour of sleep yet, so either let me get you food or cough up what the fuck your problem is."

They had a staring contest at that point, the moments dragging on, and with another loud outburst from his stomach Izaya relented. "I don't care what you get me, just get back here within two hours or I'm cutting your pay." he muttered, looking back at his computer screen and once again ignoring her until she walked out the door. Ruby eyes cast a glance at it before sighing, resting his head in his hand as he tried to remember what time he had went to bed, let alone the time he'd woken up. Despite the racket his stomach was making he didn't feel like eating, and despite all the work he's doing and how much he wants to close his eyes and sleep, they won't stay closed.

Just to add to his pressure, there was once again a buzzing coming from his drawer. And just like the last couple times, it was from Kasuka and not one of his clients, probably to ask him if he was alright again. He'd already texted the man a couple times to let him know he wasn't dead or anything, but besides that he hasn't spoken to anyone outside of work.

Izaya shut the drawer again and turned his chair to look out the window for a little bit, giving his eyes a break from the harsh fake light of his laptop. It was a nice day outside, blue skies, only a few clouds and none of them signalling rain, along with plenty of people walking around on the street since it was lunch time for everyone and they all had a time limit. The sight somehow made him feel a little better, but not enough to give him an appetite.

How was he supposed to eat when he still hadn't figured out if he could be himself again?

The informant kept staring out the window, occasionally shutting his eyes to try sleeping again but failing each attempt. He felt a twinge in his side and huffed, lifting his shirt to double check that there wasn't blood on his gauzes, which were still present since Shinra hadn't called to let him know he didn't need them. There wasn't any blood, but the twinge was still there, making him stand up and head up to his bedroom to grab another pain reliever. He didn't have many left so he'd taken his own dosage down to one pill instead of two and just made sure he didn't go over six a day.

He was just on his way down the stairs when there was a knock on the door, alerting him. He'd recently taken the spare key he'd kept under the door and put it in his desk drawer, seeing as he wouldn't need it until he left and he didn't want Kasuka letting himself in when he was working.

The ravenett looked through the peep-hole, surprised to see Shinra on the other side of his door instead of his boyfriend before he opened it, rubbing his eyes lightly. "Hey Shinra. Why are you here?" he asked, watching the doctor as his smiling face went to one of surprise, then back to a small smile.

"Oh, Kasuka said he was worried about you so he asked if I could come check on you. The last couple times he came there was no answer and no key, apparently." Shinra announced, seeing Izaya nod lightly and step aside so he could come in.

"Well, I'm not dead. Just like I texted him." Shinra just looked at him as he gestured for Izaya to sit on the couch, obviously also there to check out if his wound had healed yet. Izaya complied and settled down, lifting his shirt enough for the gauzes to be shown.

"Sometimes not being dead isn't enough for people to be at ease, Izaya. You have a boyfriend now, he worries about you. Like me and Celty do! You haven't called us for anything in so long, we almost thought you got in trouble with your boss again." the brunet chuckled, getting to work on unwrapping the bandages as he glanced up at Izaya a couple times. "But, um, you do look a little under the weather. Has everything been alright around here?"

Izaya just leaned his head back so he wouldn't have to have another staring contest that day. "Yeah, everything's been fine." he muttered, getting a small hum in return and then silence until he bandages were all off.

"Izaya, what have you been doing all week?" Shinra suddenly demanded, looking up at him and the tone he used making Izaya look back down at him as well.

"What do you mean 'what have I been doing all week'? I've been doing just what you said." "If you were doing what I told you to, then your wound would be just a scar by now!" "Well, how bad is it?"

Shinra glared at him for a second before shaking his head and tending to him again. "It doesn't look infected, but it's still open to a point it shouldn't be. Have you been bleeding a lot?"

"No." Izaya noted, seeing no blood on his bandages all week. There had only been a couple spots on it the first two days as well, so he'd assumed he was fine.

"Hm.. Has it been hurting more than usual?" "I dunno, I've been taking the pills like you said... Oh yeah, I'm gonna need more by the way. The bottle's running out."

Shinra gave him another look at that, making Izaya raise a brow. "What?" he snapped, not liking how much he was being stared at today.  _I don't need this shit, I need to get back to work... Maybe if I go in a chat-room I can find someone to toss again. I might not be as screwed as I thought.._

"Earth to Izaya! Did you not hear me!?" "No, I didn't." "Those pills were supposed to last you  **two**  weeks - how many have you been taking!?" "I've been doing just what you told me! Take two at a time, and no more than 6 a day." "Izaya, I told you no more than  _ **four**_ a day!"

_Oh.. Well, it's his fault, he knew I was half-asleep when he was telling me stuff._ Shinra ran his hand through his hair as he thought of what to do. "I knew you looked sick when I came in but.. Please tell me you've been eating." the brunet asked, looking up at him once more.

"Yeah..." "Izaya, you're not allowed to lie to your doctor." "I'm not, Namie is out getting me food as we speak!" "Fine, did you eat yesterday?" "..."

The doctor took out a fresh roll of gauzes from his pocket and started to wrap them around Izaya, double checking the wound again before covering it. "Well, now I know why it hasn't healed properly. You took too many pills and you tricked your body into thinking it was already just fine." Shinra explained, finishing the wrapping before standing and pulling Izaya up with him. "You're coming to my place so we can see if everything checks out alright. Not every case like this turns out too badly, especially since you didn't take more than 2 over your prescription, but.." the doctor trailed off and just got a nod from Izaya, who was finally starting to feel too tired to protest.

The doctor noticed and looped his arm over his shoulders before leading him down the hall to the elevator.


	33. Get A Grip

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant laid on an uncomfortable white bed, curled up as he tried to ease the pain in his side without the help of pills. It was almost 4 in the morning and he'd been awake for an hour already, having been woken up because he'd moved in a certain way during sleep that tugged on his wound.

Shinra had denied that he take anymore pills until this certain wound has healed, wanting to make sure all of the drugs were out of his system before allowing him to take more. He'd already just scraped by on not taking enough to permanently harm himself, but even that discovery had pained him. The doctor had insisted on opening his wound to see just how far it had healed before the overdose of pills kicked in and when he'd done just that, without anything to lessen the pain of un-stitching him and opening it with some medical appliance, the doctor had very quickly started working on him without an explanation.

"If I hadn't looked sooner, you could have died." was what he'd said, apparently finding a mass of stagnant blood in the wound since nothing was moving to repair it but since it was harmed, nothing was moving in and out of it very much at all. Shinra had told him something about it fermenting inside him if he'd waited too long but by that point Izaya was almost passed out from the pain anyway, only not jerking with every one of Shinra's movements because of Celty's whisps.

Now that Izaya was fully conscious and only sick because he wasn't allowed to lessen the pain in his side, head or psyche, he could better comprehend that he had almost died without Shinra's help, along with his boyfriend's help for calling the doctor in the first place.

Izaya gave up after that, knowing the pain wouldn't go away and he would just have to deal with it alone. He waited for someone to come check on him for a couple hours then, glancing around the room and twiddling his thumbs as he kept thinking about his situation. The situation he'd been dragged into the moment he started his now-favorite hobby.

It wasn't like he regretted doing it, he'd done it on a whim because he thought it would be fun and, besides a few very dramatic moments, it really had been. He'd been having the time of his life, performing for people and using his talents right in front of people's eyes instead of sneaking around like a deviant. He'd even gotten to go to a fancy party and a signing where everyone looked up to him and applauded him for what he did. He had two boys fawning over him, one annoying and one he loved to death, and he even got to rub something other than his wit in Shizu-chan's face.

To say he hated ever choosing to go to that audition would be the biggest lie he'd ever told.

But now look where he was. He was in a recovery room in Shinra's apartment, in stabbing pain that he couldn't even hope to get rid of for possibly weeks on end, with the fact that he could have died in his sleep a couple days from now hanging over his head.  _I'm only still okay because of Kasuka..._  he reminded himself, making him cringe at the fact that he'd left his cell phone at home so he had no way of texting his boyfriend. He'd already ignored his lover for two days, and unless Shinra had called him some time last night then he was probably even more worried than he was before.

Izaya let out a sigh, shifting himself very slowly and sitting up so he could breathe more easily. There was a pain settling in his stomach that almost made him sick, and he worried that Shinra may not have completely fixed him yet, but then his stomach growled and he sighed, realizing it was probably just pain from being so hungry. He'd tried to eat yesterday after Shinra had finished, eating the fatty tuna that Namie had brought him when she'd been given a call to come to the doctor's apartment instead of back to work, but he'd just thrown it right back up since the pain was still fresh and a shock to his system after his body had been alerted to the problem.

Now, he could probably eat a horse if it got close enough. He glanced at the clock and saw that it had only been an hour and a half since he last checked and he sighed, curling up again and taking smaller breaths so it wouldn't hurt as much, and just trying to ignore the thoughts running around his head asking him if he'd finally given up on being himself again.

Shinra had told him that it was common for drugs, whether you overdose or not, to give some people symptoms of depression and anxiety so he took all the awful emotions he'd been feeling the last couple days and threw them away, trying to focus on facts until he could think straight again. Even then, it was hard to ignore that he'd lost one of the few joys in his life. People watching was still fun, the humans that lived around him and Kasuka were extremely amusing at times, but he just didn't feel the urge to mess with them anymore. He'd still get the fleeting thought to torment them if they did something he didn't like, towards him or just in general, but he never executed it.

And even if he thought about executing it, he'd always think of something else to do that got in the way of it, most of the time being that he wanted to visit Kasuka.

_And after trying to be by his side every day whenever we had the time, I pretended that he didn't exist for two days..._

Izaya finally couldn't stand just sitting there anymore, pulling the blanket off of himself and standing up, testing his own balance before slipping on his signature jacket and heading out of the room silently. If he found some paper on his way out then he'd leave a note for Shinra, but it wasn't on his priority list - if he didn't get back home then he was sure he'd go crazy.

* * *

Rain poured down as Izaya sat on the hard, stone rim of the fountain in West Gate Park, hood of his jacket drawn up so he wouldn't look like a drowned rat but doing nothing else about getting wet.

The park was empty because of the weather and time of day, even though it wasn't late, but he didn't mind it. He wanted to be alone for a little while longer. Which was why he still hadn't texted Kasuka where he was yet or talked to him.

What was he supposed to say? That he'd thrown a tantrum when he'd gotten back home and that he was now wandering around like a ghost for no particular reason?

_Sure, that would go over just fine after ignoring him for now three days.._

So he just sat there quietly, staring at the stone path in front of him that was spotted with different shades of grey as the rain splattered on it, actually calming him down. He used to think he liked it because all of his humans would bundle up just to go outside for a few moments and would look miserable, or frustrated when they stepped in a puddle that was deeper than expected. He supposed that he had really just liked the sound this whole time, and the feel of it.

It was quiet in the park except for the varying sounds of water around him, and he expected it to stay that way, until he heard footsteps. He didn't look up, thinking it was just someone who also liked the rain and liked this park, deciding to take a walk and go right passed Izaya like he didn't exist.

But instead, those footsteps got closer until there was a mass that dropped down to sit right next to him, dark heavy jacket looking familiar in the corner of his eye until he looked over to see Kasuka had found him all on his own.

"I was hoping you'd be here." Kasuka said softly, obviously not knowing what to say either after being ignored for three days. Izaya just nodded and looked back at the path again, scratching at his wrist absently as he continued thinking. Kasuka, as always, noticed and reached over to take the hand that was hurting himself, holding it tightly in his own as things got silent again.

The silence dragged on for a little while until Kasuka finally spoke up. "If we stay out here too long, then we'll both get sick." The actor glanced over at him again and hoped for a response, getting a look in return.

"Yeah, I guess we will... If I get sick, then you have to make me soup and feed it to me like they do in those dramas." Izaya muttered, hoping to lift the mood a little as well. Kasuka gave him a smile.

"I would do that even if you weren't sick. You know that." the ravenett replied, moving to sit closer to him and let Izaya rest his head on the actor's shoulder. Izaya sighed softly as he did, relaxing as he drew in his boyfriend's warmth, letting the silence take over again. He knew the man was waiting for some kind of explanation as to why Izaya hadn't spoken to him, and why he had been so blunt with him when not ignoring him. And as much as he wanted to give him a good explanation, he still couldn't think of one.

_I was trying to be strong again, like the Izaya you met 5 years ago. I was trying to prove that I could still be a God and I could have the world at my feet again... But I don't think I did either of those things._

It was quiet for just another moment before Izaya spoke up. "I burned my chess-board..." he admitted, thinking back to when he was throwing his tantrum and when he flipped said chess-board onto the floor, infuriating himself further as the pieces went everywhere and he realized he would have to pick them all up later. He didn't even know what he had been trying to accomplish when he got there, he just knew that he had looked around his room and saw the board that he hadn't touched in months, hadn't progressed on in months and hadn't taken anything off of in months. It was the one piece in his home that was truly keeping track of how long ago his old self had ceased to be him.

He felt his boyfriend shift as he looked down at him, obviously confused. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I didn't want to play anymore." Izaya said simply, still staring off into space as he felt Kasuka tense up a bit at the connotation it could hold. After all, Kasuka had listened to his lengthy explanation on what the board was to him and all the pieces on it. It would make sense that it worried him. But to Izaya, it was just a chess-board now.

"You don't have to be so worried, Kasu-kun. I'm not suicidal or anything like that. The game just.. changed the rules on me too quickly for my liking." he explained, closing his eyes as Kasuka moved to wrap his arm around him as well as hold his hand.

"Is that why you wanted to be alone for a couple days?" Izaya just nodded and buried his face in his boyfriend's chest for a moment as he relaxed, opening his eyes to stare at the dark coat in front of him since he didn't want to look up.

"Kasuka.. If I wasn't a God, would you still love me?" he asked softly, not sure why he was even asking. He knew Kasuka would say yes, even if it was just to cheer him up, of course he would always say yes. That's just how his boyfriend was.

"Izaya.. You were never a God." Kasuka stated instead, surprising the informant so much that he actually jerked back to look at him with wide eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Kasuka cut him off with his lips before he could. When he pulled back, ruby and golden eyes locked again. "You weren't a God. You said it yourself, you don't believe in Gods, so how could you be?" Kasuka paused like he wanted Izaya to answer him, but the informant just opened his mouth and closed it again, still baffled. "You aren't a God, but you are my whole world Izaya. So I hope you understand that I'll never stop loving you." he finished, watching Izaya's face for some kind of reaction before they were kissing again, tears beginning to run down Izaya's cheeks from the relief he felt.

The two stayed pressed together for a while longer, sharing kisses and having tears wiped away until Kasuka stood up and picked up his boyfriend, this time piggy-back style. "I'm sorry for having you carry me." Izaya apologized, somewhere in the middle of being comforted he had moved the wrong way and tugged on his wound once more, only then remembering the pain that had been dulled for a while because of his deep thought. Kasuka just started walking towards the informant's house, holding onto his legs tightly while Izaya wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders.

"I don't mind. In fact, I might carry you around like this more often if it keeps you happy." Kasuka responded, unable to see Izaya blush at that as they continued on. The two fell into a comfortable silence as they finally got to his apartment, getting inside and shutting the door behind them, Kasuka still piggy-backing Izaya even though he really didn't need to. As they went into the living room, Kasuka about to go upstairs so he could lay Izaya down, the actor glanced over to see three chess pieces sitting on Izaya's desk. "I thought you said you burned those." he noted, tilting his head to try and see Izaya's face.

"I did, but I wanted to keep those three... I lied last time when you asked which piece you were." the informant replied, glancing over as well and looking at the three pieces. Sitting on his desk was one Black King, a White Queen and a White King, all lined up in that order. And even without explaining, he knew Kasuka understood which piece was which.

The actor loosened his grip on Izaya's legs to let him know he'd be letting go soon and Izaya dropped onto his feet gently, watching Kasuka turn around suddenly and wrap his arms around his waist, pulling him in close to give him another kiss, this one filed with passion. "I love you so much." Kasuka whispered, making Izaya smile lightly as he was lifted up again, this time to wrap his legs around Kasuka's hips.

"I love you too." he replied, finally being led upstairs to his bedroom.


	34. Love Me Softly

**_The beginning of this chapter is smut-tastic. It is strictly M-rated and if that makes you uncomfortable, please skip to after the next page-break (big, long line)._ **

* * *

_[Izaya's POV]_

Kasuka took him upstairs and into his bedroom while they shared kisses, the soft and gentle ones becoming a bit more demanding as the ravenett shut the door behind him with his foot. The informant's boyfriend had been careful and gentle with him since he picked him up from the park earlier and even with the passion that was obviously coming over them both, that part didn't change. He was laid back carefully while Kasuka loomed over him, moving from his lips down to his neck and beginning to leave marks, even the slightest bites placed on his skin making Izaya squirm.

The hands roaming along Izaya's sides traveled down to the hem of his shirt, just barely sliding under it before hesitating, silently asking for Izaya's permission to continue. And once the informant noticed, he gave a small nod, guiding Kasuka back up for another kiss before his shirt was being taken off, soon tossed to the side and forgotten. The actor's hands, much more steadily than Izaya expected, were soon sliding his pants down as well, one staying to rest of his hip as he made sure to not move him too quickly. After all, Izaya was still healing, the wound just feeling like a faint sting as he focused solely on his partner.

And for all the sureness his hands had, when Izaya glanced up at his lover's eyes, he noticed they weren't on his for once, instead glancing down at the gauzes wrapped around him. "Are you sure about this?" Kasuka asked, obviously not wanting to take advantage of him further when he was weaker than usual, not like that would have been possible after the couple days Izaya had had anyways.

The ruby-eyed informant couldn't stop himself from smiling up at him though, hands moving to tangle in his hair and pull him into another passionate kiss before stopping for air. "Kasu-kun, I know you won't hurt me." Izaya promised, already knowing there was no way Kasuka would allow himself to. He was almost certain that if it meant keeping Izaya safe and happy, he would lock him away somewhere and take care of him for the rest of his life. His lover slowly relaxed and nodded, moving back a bit so Izaya could remove his shirt as well, taking off his own pants and belt instead because it was a nuisance to try and get off even himself before leaning down to press against each other, both marveling at the other's body as they calmed themselves down.

The air around them was getting hotter, as well as their skin, but they wanted this to last a while. After all, this would be a first time for the both of them. Kasuka had admitted to never being with a guy before, only having enough experience to give a blow-job, and neither had Izaya. And despite what they both expected at first, the informant didn't mind experimenting as a bottom. Even in his mind he couldn't imagine Kasuka being on bottom of someone and with the view above him, he was willing to let Kasuka do whatever he wanted for the night.. Within reason.

The two finally broke their stares from each other's bodies, hands once again roaming to explore every dip and contour of their boyfriend's muscles, along with moving up into the other's hair and pulling lightly as they kissed, the only barrier left between them being their underwear. They only thought of removing it once Izaya got impatient, the rubbing against his groin making him hard and the small relief he would get from Kasuka grabbing his ass wasn't enough to distract him, leading the ravenett to bite Kasuka's lip and pull away from him, eyes clouded over.

"I-I'm ready." he announced, seeing Kasuka grin before moving further up the bed and taking Izaya with him so he could lay back against the pillows.

"I am too." the actor admitted, giving him one more peck on the lips before moving over in the direction Izaya instructed, finding lube in the bottom drawer and taking it out. He dropped it on the sheets beside them as he moved back inbetween his boyfriend's legs and Izaya raised them up a bit more as he slid off his underwear, showing himself to Kasuka and flushing as his boyfriend stared again.  _You've already seen it, don't stare like that!_

Just as he closed his legs and started to stutter, Kasuka was leaning over him and covering his cheeks with kisses, cupping one of them with his hand. "I'm sorry for staring. I just really like what I see." Kasuka said in earnest, making Izaya look at him again with an embarrassed glare.

"Wh-whatever. Get on with it before I change my m-mind." the informant replied, cursing in his head as he stuttered not once but twice at the compliment, squeezing his eyes shut this time as Kasuka opened his legs again and made sure he was comfortable as he ran his hands along them, moving up his thigh until he could wrap his hand around his boyfriend's cock. The shock of it finally being given attention made Izaya give out a small whimper, immediately covering his mouth as he opened his eyes to glare at him. "Y-You-!" he started accusingly, seeing an amused smirk on his lover's face.

"I know, I'm an idiot. But I want to make you feel good too, so just sit back and relax a little longer." the Heiwajima chuckled lightly, slowly starting to move his hand along Izaya's length and pamper him, trailing his lips over the man's skin and pumping him more quickly before he finally reached over for the lube again. He opened it and put a good amount on his fingers, rubbing it around to warm it up as he noticed something and glanced up at his boyfriend again. "I didn't know you liked watermelon."

"It smells nice! And if you say anything about it being girly, remember that you woke up in the middle of the night to get me stuffed animals..." Izaya hissed, really wishing his boyfriend was just a little bit less of a tease at the moment. He soon got his wish, feeling Kasuka grip his thigh as he moved it up, one of his fingers circling around Izaya before pressing in and entering him, pausing as he saw the informant cringe from the feeling. It wasn't unwelcome but it also wasn't natural, the ravenett shifting a little bit on the pillows to see if he could make it more comfortable for himself before he opened his eyes a little and nodded to Kasuka for him to move on.

And after sliding in his finger all the way to the knuckle and thrusting inside of him gingerly, only adding a finger when he thought Izaya was completely ready for it and repeating this until all four fingers could slide into his boyfriend, he deemed him ready for something bigger. "Th-that was way too long, Kasu-kun." Izaya complained as he watched Kasuka finally pull out his fingers, grabbing the lube again for the next step. Though, his words didn't hold much of a bite anymore now that he was a shivering mess, hands knotted in the sheets after Kasuka had found his sweet spot and the pleasant feeling he was beginning to get from being filled making his legs twitch and his back arch as he silently asked for more.

Now though, he felt empty and the ravenett shifted needily where he was as he saw Kasuka come closer again, hard on standing proud and neglected as Kasuka had focused on him so intently. Izaya spread his legs wider for Kasuka to come close and felt Kasuka hold his hip tightly, other hand moving to line himself up his lover's body and press the head against his entrance, finally making Izaya second-guess going further. After all, as much as he liked Kasuka's size, it seemed a hell of a lot bigger pressing against somewhere so small compared to his mouth.

"Izaya, open your eyes first." Kasuka muttered, getting the informant's attention.  _When did I close my eyes?_ he thought to himself, slowly opening them again to glance up at Kasuka as he leaned in for a kiss. They pulled apart again before Kasuka smiled. "If you want me to stop, then I will. I won't be mad." Kasuka reassured, getting a trusting smile back this time.

"I-I know." Izaya replied, laying back on the pillows and relaxing again, this time focusing on his lover's eyes instead of his actions. "Go ahead." Finally, Kasuka gave a small thrust forward and entered his boyfriend, pausing as the other tightened up with a gasp, the feeling of being filled with the other making him hold back a moan and arch up lightly. And the moment Kasuka realized he wasn't in pain but enjoying it, he began moving again slowly, pushing into his boyfriend to the hilt before pulling back and beginning to thrust, created a rhythm for them and moving one of his hands from Izaya's hip to his hand, holding onto it tightly.

The two stayed like that, slow and gentle thrusts turning into deeper ones as they got more lost in the feeling, just barely able to keep themselves from turning this into something fast-paced and messy. Every thrust sent shivers through Izaya's spine and he couldn't help moving himself to grind on his lover's length, unable to resist the deep sounds Kasuka emitted when he got in as deep as he could go, the warmth of their bodies mingling and becoming more intense as the night grew on and they finally came; Izaya spilling onto his stomach and getting some on Kasuka as well when he arched up in ecstasy, tipping Kasuka over the edge and making him cum inside of him.

And after the heat died down and they both could stop panting, they pulled apart again and sleepily crawled under the covers, curling up close together as they closed their eyes but tried to stay awake talking for just a little while. What they talked about was pretty random and pointless, both being too tired to thoroughly think out their sentences sometimes, but it made them giggle together until they finally drifted off to sleep that morning.

* * *

Izaya let out a small sigh as he began to wake up, shifting where he was and sleepily wondering what was weighing him down. He wanted to stretch, but seeing as whatever it was was also over his arm, he opened his eyes a bit to peak down, smiling to himself when he saw it was Kasuka's arms wrapped around his bare chest. Memories of last night came to his mind and made his cheeks heat up, a grin coming onto his face despite the ache in his lower back. It wasn't unbearable or anything but he'd, admittedly, read enough dirty books to know that wouldn't last long if he tried to stand up. And don't blame him for reading them, because they belonged to Kasuka and he had picked them up in the first place thinking they were just normal novels!

So, he stayed where he was, lifting Kasuka's arm up as he tried to roll over and face his boyfriend instead before giving up and relaxing where he was now stuck on his back. After a couple moments the actor beside him began to shift and let out a small groan, obviously not wanting to be awake yet. Izaya couldn't help himself when he found his energy again, once again attempting to face his boyfriend and this time succeeding, crawling in closer to his chest and laying against him before wrapping an arm around him and squeezing. "It's time to wake up, Kasuka. If I have to deal with the morning time, so do you." he announced, not very loudly but not needing to be, the ravenett curled up in front of him slowly beginning to stretch before he opened his eyes.

The amber eyes blinked for a second before he rolled around around, glancing around the room before he found the bed-side table and the clock sitting on it, staring at it for a moment before rolling back to wrap around Izaya firmly. "Who said anything about morning time? It's noon." he sighed, voice still gruff from sleep and making Izaya shiver, still thinking of last night before he pushed the thoughts away and tried to peel himself off of his boyfriend's chest.

"Morning or not, I'm awake so that means you're awake. Besides.. I need help getting to the tub." Izaya slowly admitted, becoming more and more aware of the mess on himself and the sheets around them as he woke up. Kasuka made a small face, eyes half closed as he stared at him in thought.

"Why do you need my help for.. Oh!" Kasuka suddenly exclaimed, seeming to wake himself up as his mind put together what they had done last night with what he'd just requested. "Uh yeah, right, right away." he mumbled to himself as he stood up, so obviously out of it that Izaya was shaking with laughter by the time Kasuka had gotten out of the bed and around it to pick him up bridal-style. "Hey, is your side alright? It doesn't hurt too much?" the actor asked as he set Izaya down on the counter in the bathroom, moving over to the tub to run the water for him as well.

Izaya shifted once to see if it hurt from being pulled on and gave a soft wince, going back to his normal position. "It doesn't hurt more than it did yesterday, so no it's fine." the informant replied, opening his arms to the other man as he pulled away from the tub and came closer, wrapping his arms around him lightly and resting his head on his shoulder, Izaya resting his chin on top of the ravenett's hair. "Last night was amazing." he muttered, wanting to be the first to say it since Kasuka had done such an amazing job with pleasing him. Sure, he'd been interested sexually in a couple other people in his life and gave into urges at times but he'd never felt anything like last night. He hadn't felt actual passion before, if that's what he could label it as, and now he was sure that he'd been feeling it a lot more often.

He got pulled away from his thoughts by Kasuka purring loving comments into his ear and smiled to himself, glancing at the tub to see it was pretty much full. "Kasu-kun." he muttered, getting his attention and soon being lifted again only to be set down in the warm water, shuddering once before melting into it and relaxing completely. The actor beside him stood up again before announcing that he'd clean the sheets for him and dress the bed, and that Izaya could call for him if he needed anything before stroking his cheek lightly and leaving, making Izaya wait patiently before grinning to himself like an idiot and going into a small laughing fit from how lucky he was.

After it subsided he slid down a bit in the water, lazily washing himself off as he enjoyed the treatment that he would probably be getting for the entire day.  _I could really get used to this.. It's.. not too bad being a little bit human, is it?_


	35. A Change In Portfolio

_[Izaya's POV]_

After a whole day of laying around with his boyfriend on the couch, watching stupid movies and being pampered; along with Kasuka almost setting his kitchen on fire from trying to make him something special to eat; Izaya was finally alone in his bed and staring up at his ceiling, his wound keeping him awake again and leaving him on his lonesome to think.

In his opinion there wasn't much to think about, he'd made his decision of letting come what may and staying by Kasuka's side even if that made him a lot more human than he was comfortable with. But really, he knew he was lying.  _If I can't do my job like I used to, then Shiki might 'fire' me after all, even if I keep working constantly.. Or he could go for Kasuka instead and use him as leverage…_

Izaya turned over at that, opening his drawer and pulling out the stuffed alpaca, Bonnie, to hold it to his chest, not liking the image he'd gotten of Kasuka being kidnapped by his boss.  _It's not like I suck at my job though… I'm still getting things done just as well as before, just a little slower and with a lot less free-time for myself.._ At that thought he brightened back up again, thinking of the list of assignments he'd completed in the just the couple days he'd taken off from his hobby-job.  _I got three people's addresses and weekly schedules to Shiki so he could catch them, two of them already caught and the last one currently being worked on by buffs; I pulled two drug dealers into siding with Shiki and being stuck into his fucking web as well; plus, everyone is still working on getting this gang business away from the Yakuza base and I gave them all the info I readily could and am still providing some for him… No, there's no way he would fire me yet._

The informant took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, wondering if he'd ever be able to actually  _enjoy_ his line of work again. It was what he did best and he still took a bit of pride in his own efficiency, but he did like it a lot better seeing the faces on peoples' faces when they were watching their show in a parlor somewhere or reading an article about it in a magazine, if there happened to be one. It was better to him than simply getting a job done and reporting to Shiki's smirking face once in a while for evaluation when he was called upon for one.

_It's not too bad to work either, Kasuka enjoys watching me do it. And he always offers to go buy Ootoro for me when I'm gathering information~_ Izaya mused to himself, smirking slightly before another thought came to him, making it dim a little.  _But, he did look really worried when I got stabbed. And I'm sure he's not too stupid to realize that people die because of what I do. It's gonna way on him eventually, a lot more than it would for me at least.._

The ravenett rolled over onto his other side as he wondered what he could do, considering asking Shiki to give him a different position. If he really thought about it, he had a computer, manipulation skills and was quite adaptable so any job Shiki thought of giving him, as long as it wasn't a position as grunt, would be fine for him. Maybe he could even get a job like what Namie does, except for people at Headquarters instead.

He paused for a second with a scowl.  _Ew… I'm turning human but I refuse to lower myself to Namie standards!_  He decided, nodding to himself before sighing and sitting up, staggering to his feet and heading downstairs to his kitchen to make himself some express ramen, his stomach grumbling from being awake longer than usual.  _Maybe I need to think of my options a little more first.. Come to think of it, I haven't been called to Headquarters in so long I don't even know what positions could need more people. I know last time it was people good with hacking and firewalls, but now that everyone has computers or at least knows how to start one, then those positions might be long gone…_

Izaya started munching on his noodles as he leaned against the counter, staring blankly at the table in front of him as he kept wandering through his mind to try and think of something suitable for him, if not in his current position. He finally gave up thinking about it when he realized he was scraping the bottom of the ramen cup and still hadn't come up with any valid points.  _Fine.. I'll head to Headquarters myself tomorrow and see if there's anything good. If not then.. Well, this job can last me a while longer. It does give me a couple grand an assignment.._

And with that, he headed back upstairs to try and get some sleep.


	36. Chapter 36

_[Izaya's POV]_

_Alright, I can do this. Nothing's concrete anyway, and it's not like he can hurt me for asking. I'd still be working for him after all.._ Izaya told himself as he looked up at the building where one of the many Yakuza headquarters was located. Of course they had back-up buildings if anything got out about their original base, but this one was actually in full use at the moment, holding Shiki's office as well.

The informant sighed softly before heading inside and planting a smirk on his face as usual, looking around at the various people in the main room before he went right to the elevator and put in a code to go up, that one action eliminating any suspicious gaze that was on him. His face may be commonly known in Ikebukuro, but in the headquarters almost a whole city away from his home there weren't a lot of people that remembered him well or in a good light.

He calmed his nerves as he went up the elevator, stepping off at the 'top' floor that it would go to and looking around at the various low-lifes located around him. This place was more of a common room than anything else, made for the workers to hang out when not on an assignment, and also a place to station guards so no one unwanted could go down the long hallway passed them and continue up 3 flights of stairs to Shiki's office.

They were all spread into their own groups, mostly gangs that have their territory owned by the Yakuza instead of being intruders, and some were laughing loudly with each other while others were almost dead silent, grumbling to one another as they made some kind of bet or deal. The one that caught his eye was something in between, half the group laughing their heads off while the rest watched them with a dull 'you guys must be drunk' expression, one of them being a familiar blond. "Shinnosu." Izaya called over to him, walking a bit closer so he could tell who he was in the dimmed room, and catching his eye before the blond stood up with a grin.

"Hey! It's been way too long." the man greeted, dismissing himself from his friends and walking over to him, following him as he skirted around the various thugs and went into the hallway instead, stopping half-way down to lean against the wall.

"Yeah, it has been.. How have you been since we talked?" Izaya asked, feeling something almost akin to guilt when he realized he'd forgotten to reply to the man's emails in two weeks. It wasn't an awfully long time, but surely enough to make the blond worry about him. Shinnosu shrugged a little, taking another drag of his cigarette.

"I've been fine. I heard you tracked down the leader of that gang thats been bugging us. Me and the boys are supposed to be part of the second run if they don't go down the first time." he announced, almost proudly. Then he looked down at Izaya again, seeing a thoughtful expression. "What ya thinkin' about? And why are you here? You don't come in all that often since you were left to your own."

Izaya gave a small shrug back before he thought of something, glancing up at the taller blond. "I just wanted to come speak with Shiki about something but.. Do you know if there are any positions open around here besides what I do? Like hacking or anything like that." the informant asked finally, thinking if anyone would know if could be him. After all, Shinnosu had been working there for even longer than he has, and works in the office a lot of the time. The genuine look of surprise on the blond's face almost made Izaya laugh, despite being nervous.

"Orihara, don't tell me you finally want out.." he said suddenly, looking like Izaya had lost his mind. "You told me you love your job!" Shinnosu added.

"No, no. I don't want out, Shin, I'm fine. I'm just a little.. bored, ya know? I've been doing the exact same thing for years, even I'm surprised I didn't get tired of it earlier!" Izaya replied, hoping Shinnosu wouldn't go into over-protective mode or something. Back when he was a teenager and completely helpless on his own it had been more than welcome, but now.. Well, his flick-blade was enough to equal about three of Shinnosu, in Izaya's own opinion. The blond calmed down at that, but still looked worried, thinking for a moment before letting out another sigh.

"I haven't heard anything about Shiki needing a new person for anything, but I guess you could ask him.. Are you sure about this? I mean, it does make sense that you're bored, but you could do your job in your sleep! Do you really wanna give that up?" the blond asked him, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to wrap his mind around what Izaya could be up to.

Izaya thought about what he said for a second before shaking his head. "No, I guess I don't.. But I want something new Shin, I can still ask what he has available, right?" the ravenett replied, resolving himself before glancing down the hall. "Guess I should go do that now, since I'm here. I'll come out and see you once we're done, alright? We can go get Ootoro like when we met." he offered, patting the blond's arm before pushing off the wall and going down the hall, steeling his nerves as he reached the end of it and started up the stairs.

Before he realized it, Shinnosu was at his side again, putting out his cigarette and throwing it away before they reached the third flight of stairs. "Sure, we'll go get Ootoro, but I'm keeping tabs on you first. God knows you don't watch out for yourself enough.." the blond muttered, getting a small smile and nod. Before they went up, Izaya stopped him for a second.

"Hey, Shin? You remember when we first met right?" the ravenett asked, trying not to feel stupid at the look that was given to him.

"Yeah, I do. Why?" "I just wanted to thank you for saving my ass back then, quite literally.."

Shinnosu almost burst out laughing, giving him a grin before ruffling his hair a bit, and letting Izaya fix it before they started climbing up again. "It was nothin', Orihara. Just try to keep me from having to save it again." the blond chuckled, both soon turning serious as they got to the top of the stairs and were faced with Shiki's body guards.


	37. Shiki Says...

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The two stepped into Shiki's office after letting his bodyguards handle his ID, his actual ID, and allowed him to step in after announcing him. "Ah, Orihara-san. This is a surprise, I don't think you've ever come to me unannounced before." Shiki said, looking up at them with an almost glare.  _Okay, he's already in a bad mood.. Gotta be careful._

"Yes, I think so too. But I wanted to speak with you about something and thought it would be best to come to you directly, instead of through my computer." the ravenett replied, waiting for the invitation before sitting down across from his boss. Shinnosu took his place at the back of the room against the wall, since he wouldn't be speaking.

The Yakuza boss glanced between them for a second before sitting back in his chair again, obviously trying to size up what he came for. "Alright then, what's so important?"

"I'm tired of my position." Izaya said quickly, going back through all of the conversations he'd previously had with his boss and determining what would be the best to do. And sadly, the way that worked out for him the most is to put him on edge first.

Shiki's brows knitted and he watched the informant looking nonplussed. "And just what do you mean by "tired", Orihara?" Izaya tried not to stop smirking at him, refusing to be intimidated when he was still currently in control of the situation.

"Bored, tired, lost an interest in; the list is quite long, Shiki-san. But you don't need to worry or bother with thinking that you'll be losing an asset." Izaya announced, watching his eyes as they narrowed and his boss gritted his teeth.

"And why would I not need to worry about that exactly?"

"Because I just want a change in division. I'm currently an informant for the Yakuza and wish to be something else, still for the sake of the Yakuza."

Everything was quiet for a moment and the two stared at each other, both trying to gauge the other's reaction though there wasn't much of one on either side. It felt like an eternity before Shiki leaned forward in his seat and scoffed, flicking his hand so that there was a gun soon being pressed to the back of Izaya's head. It almost took all of the informant's will-power to not duck or move away from it, knowing that if he did then it would be shot either way.

"Orihara-san.. Do you think I'm stupid?" was what Shiki first asked, sounding somewhere between amazed and pissed off. "I've been working here since you were in diapers, working my way up until I sat here as your boss and everyone else's boss, and what do you ask me?" he continued, getting no response from Izaya as he took the grin off of his face and more respectfully listened to him.

"You are an informant, and a damn good one. In any other position you wouldn't be worth a single shit those grunts outside take, and you want me to put you into that position.. You must be joking." the man spoke deliberately, both hearing the safety being pulled off of the gun and Shiki gave the man behind Izaya a look to tell him to put it back on. Izaya almost sighed from relief when it was, giving him another security blanket for the moment. Shiki put his gaze back on the ruby-eyed man in front of him before shaking his head. "Because I really hope you are joking, Orihara-san, I'll give you a chance to not get that big brain of yours splattered on the table.."

"Are you an informant?" "Yes." "Are you loyal to me and the rest of these idiots?" "Yes." "Are you asking me to get rid of one of my biggest assets in this whole fucking business, just for the sake of your happiness?" "..No, sir."

Shiki gave a grin at that finally, leaning back in his chair and waving the gun-man off, seeming amused at Izaya's sudden obedience. "Good. And it's going to stay that way, or I won't give you another second-chance. You're dismissed." the man announced, moving to light his cigar as Izaya and Shinnosu quietly left, their heads down as Izaya tried to convince himself that he definetly wasn't dead and that he could still see his boyfriend and friends' happy faces again for a long while.


	38. Join The Party

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

**[Hey, how are you? I haven't heard from you all day.]**  Kasuka sent, it finally being 4 in the afternoon without a word from his boyfriend. It didn't worry him at first, Izaya had called him to let him know that he'd be doing work that Sunday so it would take longer than usual to talk. But that had been at nearly 7 in the morning and Izaya had been leaving then, so for him to still be busy just didn't settle right with him.

He waited by his phone for another hour, distracting himself barely with a book that he was in the middle of, but it was cast aside the moment his phone buzzed.

**[I'm fine, Kasu-kun~ After work I met up with a friend. We're going to Russia Sushi if you want to meet him.]**

Kasuka reread the text once before smiling and agreeing to be there soon, surprised that Izaya would invite him. From what the ravenett could tell, besides the mutual friends that him and Shizuo had, there weren't a lot of people that were happy to see his boyfriend, let alone hang out.  _Wonder what his friend is like.. If they're like Dong-Yul I'm going to laugh._

He went to his room and got dressed quickly before heading out the door and going to meet them.

* * *

_Well.. This is unexpected._  he thought to himself as he moved into the seat beside his boyfriend and gave him a peck on the cheek. Sitting across from them was some blond, currently putting out a cigarette after being told to by Simon, and crossing his arms as he sat back and pouted in his chair after that. And the more Kasuka looked at him, the more he could conclude that this was just a slightly taller, much lankier version of his Aniki and that this person. in every sense that Kasuka knew of, was not someone Izaya liked to hang out with.  _So what the fuck made them friends?_

"You gonna introduce me?" Kasuka asked softly, looking to Izaya who rolled his eyes.

"This is Shinnosu, a work-mate of mine. And Shinnosu, this is Kasuka. My boyfriend~" Izaya stated, looking at the blond across from them that nodded but still looked surprised.

"Hm, I never knew you were gay, Orihara. But you look happy, so good for you." Shinnosu chuckled, giving them a thumbs up which just made Kasuka blush a bit. "How long have you guys been together?" Shinnosu suddenly asked, leaning forward with a smile.

Kasuka responded immediately, "A little over two months now." The look of surprise that came to his face was priceless.

"Only two months? How long have you known each other?" The informant and actor shared a look before Izaya answered.

"That's kinda complicated, but I'd say 4 and a half months." he reasoned, seeing as it was the middle of October and all of this nonsense had begun in July. The look of surprise was still there. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just, knowing you, you've never been one very open to touching or communication or... Well, a lot of stuff. I'm proud of you." Shinnosu announced, reaching a hand forward to ruffle the informant's hair, which was quickly slapped away so he the actor's boyfriend could fix it again. After that Shinnosu just sat back, obviously having run out of things to ask about their relationship. Kasuka and Izaya waited a moment before sharing a look.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" the blond asked. They both shook their heads quickly.

"Eheh.. Actually, you're the first person to  _not_ ask about our sex life..." Kasuka explained, running a hand through his hair as he laughed it off.

"Well, that's fuckin' rude. Why would anyone need to know that?" "Thank you! Finally, someone that understands.."

After that, the little group was more open with each other, chatting about things going on in the media then Shinnosu announcing something embarrassing Izaya had done when younger, followed by Izaya throwing the same thing back in Shinnosu's face and the three of them just having a generally good time while they ate.

When things finally died down and it looked like they would be splitting up to go home soon, it occurred to Kasuka that he never fully asked about what Izaya had needed to do for work. And since Shinnosu was a 'work-mate' of his, then it wouldn't hurt too much to ask him aloud. "Hey, Izaya, what was it that you needed to do for work today? You don't usually take that long for your job." the ravenett asked, seeing a look go across Izaya and Shinnosu's face at once.

"Uh.. It doesn't matter. My trip didn't exactly go as planned, so letting out details would probably be bad." the informant replied softly instead, giving him a sorry smile before Kasuka just accepted it. He wasn't the one working for the Yakuza, so he would probably never understand their protocols.

"Alright, if you ever need any help though, just tell me." the actor sighed, hugging his boyfriend to his side again before they finished up and Shinnosu gave Kasuka his number, thinking they could all meet up like this again when they had the time. They split up, Kasuka and Izaya going back to the actor's apartment and Shinnosu heading off to wherever it was he settled down, Kasuka hadn't asked since it was currently none of his business, and on the way Kasuka glanced at his boyfriend.

"Okay, I'm not the only one of us that thinks he looks like Shizuo, right?" "...You're crazy." "But it's true!" "I don't see it, Kasu-kun. You're imagining things." "I'm his little brother, if anyone looks like aniki, I would know." "That beast still doesn't belong on the same planet as me, don't even try it!" "I'm just sayin'..."


	39. Step Back and Relax

_[Izaya's POV]_

It had been another week since Izaya had gone to see Shiki, and to say it was troublesome for him would be an understatement. He was used to going out alone sometimes and being at ease, only on look-out for Shizuo and maybe a client or two he happened to pass so he could give them a little input or ask/remind them about payment. But now..

The informant glanced behind him slightly as he walked, pretending to be interested on a poster taped to the wall about a lost dog - when he did, he once again caught sight of the men following him, not well concealed but also not painfully obvious to someone who wasn't looking for him. And since they were so bad at their 'job' he knew it was more than them simply following him that was their task, it was to let him know he'd slipped up again. He'd gone back onto Shiki's radar, after no less than two years off of it..

_Fuckin' great.._  he thought to himself, continuing his walk towards Kasuka's apartment. After the first two days of being followed, Izaya decided it would be safer to hang out with his boyfriend during his off time rather than staying in his own. And that was only because in his line of work, someone following to warn him and someone following to murder him looked suspiciously alike.

He finally made it and got in with a keycard that Kasuka had given him a couple days ago, telling him that at any time he could come over and even wake him up if he needed to. It was such a sweet gesture that Izaya took his own spare key and gave it to Kasuka, planning on having yet another spare made to put back in it's hiding place in case he was stupid and locked himself out. It barely took 2 knocks on the man's door for him to answer as well, a smile greeting him. "Hey." was what he got, along with a kiss on the cheek and Izaya couldn't help blushing as he smiled back, hiding it by jabbing his boyfriend in the side again.

"I told you to knock off that mushy crap." he reminded, going in and dropping onto the expensive couch before he laid out on it. He glanced at the room around him once again and hummed, still thinking the apartment was smaller than his own but held less in it, making it feel almost unlike a home at all.

"And I told you, that mushy crap isn't going to stop happening until the day we both die." Kasuka responded, sitting next to his legs and laying back on them, despite obviously being uncomfortable. Despite the increase in how much he ate and the difference in his diet since he started dating Kasuka, he was still awfully bony and lithe for a guy his age, so laying on his bony knees was probably not the best thing to let the other ravenett do. He adjusted appropriately before moving to curl up in Kasuka's lap instead, already seeing him brighten up. "So, what did you come over for today?" the actor asked, knowing they had nothing planned but sometimes Izaya thought of a plan or scenario before coming so they wouldn't get too bored of each other.

"I didn't really think of anything. I just came over to get away from my apartment." Izaya muttered, mostly telling the truth. His apartment did feel awfully empty now that he had someone he wanted to share it with on a common basis, staying there alone wasn't something he always enjoyed anymore; but it was also that Kasuka's apartment and entire building had very well put together security. A card-key to get into the lobby, the same card-key to use the elevator, and a key to get into his own apartment obviously. If he really felt like it, Kasuka could just ask someone to install one of those fingerprint scanners on his door as well, and this building could equal the American FBI, at least in their movies.

Here he could relax for a while and not feel like he was being stalked or watched, even though he knew the moment they went outside it would be just the same.

The informant hadn't realized he'd sighed aloud until Kasuka kissed his cheek, asking what was wrong. "Nothing, I'm just kinda hungry. I forgot to eat before coming over.. Lots of assignments to complete." he mumbled, resting his head in the crook of Kasuka's neck as he relaxed. The actor made a noise of acknowledgement before running a hand through his boyfriend's hair.

"Then how about we try cooking together?" Kasuka offered, making Izaya look up at him with a brow raised.

"You can't cook anything other than seafood and some pasta without burning the kitchen down and I've barely cooked a thing in my life. Do you want us to destroy your apartment?" he asked bluntly, watching his boyfriend just chuckle and stand up, holding him bridal style as he took him hostage and towards the kitchen.

"I didn't burn yours down, did I? Besides, with both of us put together it can't be too bad. You're good with instructions and I'm good at following them a lot of the time." Kasuka reasoned, setting Izaya down on the kitchen table and turning away only to bring in his own laptop, one he barely used so it still worked quickly. "Now we just have to find something to cook.." he muttered to himself, typing something in and scrolling to try and find recipes. The ravenett peaked at the screen as he finally gave in, ruby eyes looking at the pictures next to the food as the other scrolled.

"As long as it's nothing sweet then fine. I don't feel like going out anyway." he huffed, really hoping they didn't die doing this.


	40. Make Me A Macaroon!

_[Kasuka's POV]_

The actor hummed to himself as he kept scrolling through recipes, having no clue what to make. He had a lot of extra stuff in his kitchen because of care packages, once again being sent to get him as a guest on something that wasn't exactly beneficial to his career, and he had to think of something to use the items for.

He could feel Izaya's chin resting on his shoulder as he watched the screen as well, letting Kasuka tilt his head to rest his own against his boyfriend's hair. "How about these?" Kasuka finally asked, stopping on chocolate macaroons since they looked good and he had tasted some before himself.

"Kasuka, I said nothing sweet!" Izaya immediately protested, the word chocolate in the title obviously making him grumpy.

"It's not too sweet, don't worry. You're only supposed to use dark chocolate - really, really dark chocolate - and you don't use too much sugar either, it'll be fine." the actor explained, giving him a kiss on the cheek to see if it would sway his boyfriend's decision. There was pouting for a moment as Izaya glanced at him, until finally the informant sighed. "Alright, fine. But I'm only having a couple." the ravenett concluded, moving so Kasuka could set the laptop onto the opposite counter and look at the recipe to get the ingredients.

"If you like them though, you can have all of them and I'll just force you to help me make some more." the actor replied, seeing Izaya roll his eyes at him before failing to fully conceal a smile.  _He'll have fun._

After everything was out, Izaya slid out of his place on top of the table, moving to stand beside his boyfriend and look at everything. "What do we do first?" Izaya muttered, obviously trying to act like he really hated the idea of cooking.

"We're supposed to.. line two baking sheets with parchment paper, which I have… And have a pastry bag with a half-inch tip. Which I don't have.." Kasuka said slowly as he read the instructions, reading through some of the suggestions as well as he went, which was why he was reading so slowly.

"Then we have to go get one right? Let's pick something else to make." Izaya said beside him, looking at alll of the ingredients and thinking it couldn't be too hard to make something else with all of it.

"No, it says here we can make one. And we're going to need almond powder, but I only have regular almonds… I'll do the bag while you mash them or the other way around, kay?" he asked, turning to look at his boyfriend. The informant was already grabbing the almonds from their place so he assumed he'd gone with the first option. Kasuka did his own assignment, finding a freezer bag and cutting a hole in the tip, making sure it was big enough before glancing over at Izaya. He'd been quiet for the last couple minutes besides the sound of almonds being crushed, but when he turned around he saw why - his boyfriend was currently trying to hold in a smile and laugh as he crushed them, switching between rolling over them with a rolling pin and using it to whack them inside a bag so they would be a fine enough powder as needed. It was like watching a small child be easily amused with drawing silly faces in the sand.

"So, enjoying yourself?" Kasuka finally asked as he was almost done, grinning to himself when Izaya jumped and hit the almonds harder than before in his surprise.

"No, why would you think that?" the informant retorted, blushing lightly from being caught in his moment of childish amusement. Kasuka came closer and looked over his work before giving him another peck on the cheek and pouring the now-powdered-almonds into a small bowl.

"It's alright to enjoy yourself, ya know. This might be a good hobby for you if you get bored and I'm not around." Kasuka added, looking at the instructions again before pouring the almond powder, sugar, cocoa powder and salt into a smoothie maker, his makeshift food processor then turning it on.

"Why are you doing that?" "You need to mix them up so the macaroons all taste the same." "It looks like you put chalk in there instead of fruit."

Kasuka just shook his head for a second as he read ahead in the instructions, feeling Izaya leaning against his back as he did, either reading as well or just pressing against him to ease his boredom. Either way he just enjoyed the closeness for a moment until the powder was done; he sifted it, set it aside and started on the next part, glancing at the recipe every couple minutes to make sure he didn't screw up. The entire time Izaya was still close to him or hovering near him, almost making him nervous that he would screw something up before glancing at him and noticing that he wasn't staring at him for attention, but instead having his full attention on what Kasuka was doing to help make their treat.

"You want to try?" the actor suggested, stepping away from the bowl in front of him that he was mixing and watching Izaya snap back to attention before shrugging and moving towards it.

"I guess. You make it sound hard, it's just mixing." the informant huffed, copying what the ravenett had been doing a moment ago and finally making Kasuka grin again. Izaya had started glancing at the computer as well when he noticed it didn't look exactly like the picture after a couple minutes of doing it.

"Here, lemme help." Kasuka laughed, already feeling the glare on him within half a second but it stopped when he got behind him and wrapped his arms around him, taking his hand and doing a different motion than before to try and make it easier. "Better?"

"Hmph.." Izaya refused to look at him now that he was pressed up against his back instead, but the actor just kept close to him, smirking to himself as he realized he was doing something almost every cheesy movie brought up at some point. It was fun though and he could see why people did it. They stayed like that for another minute before Kasuka only moved away to grab some cream and add it into the mix so it wouldn't just be a dry mass. They finished that step and moved on until they were ready to put their batter onto the cookie sheets.

They each got a bag, Kasuka making another one for him quickly so Izaya could do it as well, before each getting their own trays to spread their macaroon bases out on. If one comment could be made about the outcome, it was that Izaya was much better at making his treats look professional. Almost none of Kasuka's looked equal to each other and he was almost certain that they would bake into one another while in the oven, but Izaya's batch looked just like the picture shown to him, all equal and in neat rows.

"You should be on a cooking show, not a drama.." "Shut up, I'm just following the instructions! At least mine will bake properly.." "But mine have personality~"

Kasuka earned a jab in the side at that comment before he moved to put their trays in the oven, sighing as they looked at each other. "We still have more to make if they're gonna be right."

"How much more do we have to do!?" "Not much, just follow my lead." Izaya sighed dramatically and followed behind him as he moved onto the next step, thankfully the making of the ganache being much simpler.

* * *

It was only 10 minutes later that the filling was done and all they were waiting for was for the bases to be done and cooled, giving them almost a whole other hour to themselves just for kissing and giggling as Kasuka pressed his boyfriend against the counter. "Kasu-kun, cut it out~ If we don't stop then they're going to burn, just like everything you make." Izaya commented, getting a grin in return.

"You weren't complaining about my cooking when I made us dinner a couple days ago. Or a week before that, or-" "Get off your high-horse Kasu-kun, I already said I don't cook.. But thank you for not letting me starve myself on accident." "Any time."

Kasuka rested his head on Izaya's shoulder after that, both of them drifting into silence again as they cuddled where they were. He definetly didn't want to move when the oven beeped to let them know he needed to take the trays out, staying where he was for a moment until Izaya nudged him.

"We can cuddle anytime you want, quit being a baby." "But I'm your baby." "You're a grown-ass man, don't do that."

The actor finally pushed away and got them out of the oven, making sure everything was fine and trying to go back into their previous position, only being stopped by his boyfriend now being on top of the counter and leaning back against a cabinet, looking uncomfortable but half asleep where he was sitting.  _Well, he did say he had a lot of assignments before this. It's no wonder he's tired too._

The ravenett just smiled to himself as he pulled a sleepy boyfriend into his arms and walked him out into the living room, laying him on the couch and draping a blanket over him before snuggling with him on top of it. Izaya fell asleep quickly with the help of his murmuring and warmth, leaving Kasuka on his own half an hour later when he got up to completely finish the macaroons himself, putting them into the fridge and coming back out to sleep beside his lovely informant again.

Kasuka pressed a kiss onto the other's lips softly before drifting to sleep beside him, thinking they could do this together a lot more often.


	41. What You Mean To Me

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

The actor woke up sometime around 5 in the morning, still laying on his boyfriend and being tangled up with him nicely on the couch. He was so warm and comfortable beside the other man that he couldn't imagine getting up, even if his stomach was growling and he needed to eat something because they both forgot to last night.  _We'll have breakfast together when he wakes up._  Kasuka decided, smiling to himself as he buried his face into Izaya's neck again.

To him, it was almost addictive to wake up beside his boyfriend, feeling his body heat and knowing you were warming him up as well and being able to be the first thing he sees in the morning. He'd never heard of a better way to wake up, and he wished that he could do it every day of his life, as long as it was Izaya that he was waking up besides.

The actor took in a deep breath to stop himself from yawning, not feeling like going back to sleep yet either. When he cast a glance towards the window, he noticed it was already peaking a bit of sunlight in, letting him know it would be a nice, bright day with probably no clouds.  _I could take Izaya to the park again, or we could try to find an amusement park, or we could go out and see a movie~ But he doesn't like going outside very much, so we might be in the apartment again, watching Netflix.. Either way._

He kept thinking to himself what they could spend the day doing, shifting his gaze from the window back to his significant other. The informant looked so at peace at the moment he almost wished that he could sleep the day away, but knowing from experience, if he did that then his sleep schedule would be messed up and he would be grumpy at 11 in the morning and a sweetheart (or as close as he got to one) at 11 at night, which wasn't good for when they were going back to work the next day.

And if he slept the entire day, then Kasuka wouldn't be able to talk to him and ask what he was thinking and hear that voice he loved so much. Kasuka had absolutely no idea how it could be one of the many things Shizuo scorned about the other, thinking he sounded like an angel and Shizuo was, to a small degree still, the stupid one for not being able to hear it properly. And just because that voice insulted the blond a lot didn't stop making it sound amazing, he'd been on the receiving end of a lot of empty threats and teasing and some few and far inbetween insults, but he could never be mad about it when it was Izaya saying them.

As Kasuka's thoughts went into a lull for a moment and he almost fell asleep again, he shook it off and moved the covers down slightly to cool himself off, knowing his own heat would keep Izaya plenty warm for him to sleep for another hour. The actor settled himself again and breathed a small sigh as he tried to imagine himself without Izaya at the moment, wondering what he would still be like if the man hadn't shown up one day as his partner. Miserable, was his one conclusion. Especially now that he knew what it felt like to be loved by the one crush he's ever had.

Before Izaya had fully come into his life, he'd just been doing what he'd always done, follow directions. When he was little his parents would tell him, "Get good grades and you get a treat" or "Take care of your brother, he needs someone close to him." but they had always been directions and not options, even then he would have still followed them completely. While he did have emotions sometimes they just didn't shine through and he wondered what was wrong with him when other children smiled and laughed and had fun, and he just couldn't see what was so fun about what they were doing or talking about. Who cares about toy trucks? It's not like they're real trucks or all that fun to play with. The same went with a lot of things his age-group did. The only thing he ever fully understood the reason of liking was video games, seeing them as cool and new and something interesting to do when you had time.

And the more time he spent following orders, gave him even less time smiling or playing or having a lot of fun with other children. He'd gotten into child acting and had been a natural for it, despite not knowing what to do a lot of the time. They gave him a script, told him how to say his lines and he just did it, somehow getting the admiration of a lot of people he didn't know and didn't care about knowing. The only one he'd learned to smile around had been his brother, but even that was rare with his still out-of-control temper.

It had been hopeless from that time to end of his education for him to think he was normal, just going with whatever was happening and making money and avoiding those who would try to use him for that money, which was a lot of people in the area they were in.. But he still had hope. He could still think of Izaya when he was alone or left to himself and actually feel happy. It made him smile for a moment and he appreciated that, being able to feel normal if only for a moment or two everyday. Even that was abnormal, smiling from the thought of someone you didn't even have a full conversation with, that person also being completely scorned by the person closest to him, but he couldn't help it. The ravenett had no idea what about him made him smile either - he'd thought he looked like an angel, talked like an angel, and acted like a devil in disguise, but when he thought about each thing they would make him smile more. Once Kasuka was about to get out of highschool, he'd just decided he'd loved everything about him and left it at that so as to not stress himself out.

And he'd been right. Now, Kasuka was with someone that loved him despite the obvious troubles with it and he had never been happier. He couldn't remember a time when he'd blushed this much or smiled this much or felt appreciated as much as he did when with his ruby-eyed lover, and he never wanted to go back to how he was before. Kasuka was sure he never would, but that all depended on his boyfriend or not. If Izaya left him alone and never talked to him again, he'd never smile again. And if Izaya stayed with him but ended up somehow disliking him, even hating him, he would never smile again either. There was the chance that Izaya broke up with him but they still talked, and Izaya found someone else but was happy... That could let Kasuka smile for a moment.

As long as Izaya was happy, then he was happy and he may not be able to go to the ends of the Earth to keep him that way, but he'd damn well try.

More light was shining through into his home as he pulled himself away from his thoughts, hearing Izaya sighed and feeling him absently move his hand into Kasuka's hair, brushing his fingers through it as he woke up slowly. "Goodmorning, love~" Kasuka cooed, not sure if he could hear him quite yet or not. It was just a moment later that Izaya's ruby eyes opened and focused on him, seeming unnatural bright and cheerful for someone just waking up. But he couldn't be happier to see them, being able to read the comfort and warmth in the others eyes like a book and feeling himself smile up at the informant, knowing his eyes were showing the same thing.


	42. Bouquet

_[Izaya's POV]_

The ravenett stretched as he walked into his workplace, waving at their director before disappearing into his dressing room. It was quiet that day, despite so many people being there. It had already been over a week and people were still mourning that girl; Izaya on the other hand simply asked for a new assistant and was given one, though not as interesting as the one before. She was so standard it almost seemed abnormal, but that just made the informant turn off his interest even more quickly.

He dropped his bag onto the couch before looking up, seeing a bouquet sitting on his desk made up of roses, all different shades. The informant eyed it for a moment before trying to guess who it came from, knowing Kasuka wasn't one to do this kind of thing, at least not being one to send it to their work. His boyfriend was much more subtle than that and they still hadn't talked about coming out as a couple yet, they probably never would to the public, so it had to be someone more spontaneous and outright.

That's why it didn't surprise him when he flipped the card over and saw Ki Dong-Yul printed on it.  _Idiot.._

The informant wondered what to do with them before ripping the card up and throwing it in the trash, still pondering until his new assistant walked in. He turned and saw her, a lightbulb going off. "Kanesi, do you like roses?" he asked suddenly, seeing her light up and nod. He gave her a smile and gestured to the bouquet. "Then you can take these home, if you'd like." he offered, really hoping she could tell that his smile was inviting but not friendly.

"Thank you, Kobayashi-san!" she gushed, rushing forward to look at the bouquet and touch the rose petals. Izaya left her alone with them, seeing as she didn't have a desk of her own to take them to, and moved onto the couch near his bag, taking out his phone to text his boyfriend, who was probably walking in the door.

**[If you see Dong-Yul, glare at him or something. He sent me flowers.]** Izaya informed, not being one to hide the advances made on him since Kasuka knew it wasn't his fault. His co-star had already clearly seen how much he hated the other man's flirting, so Kasuka had told him he'd back him up with trying to get the Korean to lay off, at least a little bit.

**[I will. What kind did he get you?]**

**[Roses.]**

**[Do you like them?]**

**[Hell no! They're too gaudy for me.. And that can say something.]**

They kept talking like that for a few moments before his assistant finally left, seeing as she wasn't needed at the moment, and Izaya invited Kasuka to his room. They had nothing to do but practice their lines for two days, leaving everyone else with the job of checking props and equipment before shooting the next episode.

It wasn't too long after that that Izaya got impatient with waiting for him.

**[Where are you?]**

**[Dong-Yul's asking questions.]**

Izaya stopped texting him at that, thinking it would be best to let Kasuka focus on the other while he was interrogated. He busied himself with going into a chatroom and playing around on his phone until his boyfriend finally showed up, 20 minutes later.

"How did it go?" the informant asked softly, watching Kasuka drop down beside him and lean back with closed eyes.

"I have no idea. That guy looked peppy no matter what I said." Kasuka mumbled, obviously already tired from the conversation. "He kept asking questions about you I didn't know the answers to. That and I didn't know which ones I could lie about.." the actor muttered, opening his eyes and looking over when Izaya held his hand, something the informant didn't initiate often.

"Well, what did you end up telling him?" "The few things you told me before I found out you were you. Favorite color's red, don't like sweets, plan on going to college with very few details.. That guy is troublesome."

Izaya looked up at his boyfriend in surprise when he heard the tone of voice, wondering if he'd ever heard his boyfriend get this frustrated and maybe even a little pissed before. He didn't know how to respond to it either, just continuing to hold his hand for a moment as the room was quiet. "I gave his flowers to my assistant. They look obnoxious, don't they?" he pointed out suddenly, gesturing to them with a sneer to try and cheer up the other a little.

Kasuka glanced at them and nodded, going back to silence until Izaya curled up to his side, comforting him without words. "What flowers do you like?" the actor asked quietly, obviously tired of the silence by now as well.

"I like Spider Lilies, the red ones. They're very interesting…" "Interesting, how?" "Well, when someone says flowers people usually think of tulips or roses or cherry blossoms, cause they're cheery colors and look full of life - but they're dark and spindly and still pretty." "Ah.. So, it's you as a flower?"

Kasuka grinned down at his boyfriend as he asked, seeing Izaya roll his eyes before poking him in the side. "Don't make smart comments like that. I  _was_ going to feed you some of those macaroons we made since I had them left over, but.."

"Sorry, sorry~ I'll behave for the rest of the day, alright?" Kasuka prompted, obviously cheering up quickly at the very thought of Izaya doing something so sweet and cheesy with him, especially without prompting. The informant smiled to himself in pride as the other was smiling freely again, no longer sounding irritated in the least.

He did however notice that during the hour that they talked to each other, Kasuka would still glance at the flowers like they didn't belong there. Someone came in to call for Kasuka, needing to double check that he knew what to do for a certain scene before whisking away again. The actor sighed before standing up, giving Izaya a peck before turning.

Without thinking about it, Izaya reached out for his boyfriend's wrist to stop him, not reaching for his hand only because he'd shown that type of affection once already that day. When Kasuka looked down at him expectantly the informant couldn't stop blushing, not believing that he was about to say this.

"You shouldn't worry about Dong-Yul, alright? He's not my type."

Kasuka raised a brow at that. "Then what is your type?"

Izaya tried to keep eye contact with the other ravenett as he said it, but couldn't, glancing over at the wall instead. "O-Only you are.." he forced out before letting go of Kasuka's hand and waiting for him to leave, only blushing more when Kasuka was suddenly kissing him sweetly. Kasuka only left when he was called once again.


	43. No More Roses, No More Reason

_ [Izaya's POV] _

_Fuckin'.. This is the fourth one!_  Izaya shouted in his head, scowling as there was yet another gift left on his desk for him, no doubt from the idiotic tech manager outside. He'd been getting one a day, and so far the only hint Dong-Yul had taken was that he didn't like roses, seeing his assistant walking out with them on the first day and looking almost like he'd been slapped in the face as he did.

Now, he had already received a teddy bear, chocolates -  _yuck.._  - and more flowers, though this time it was a bouquet of various chrysanthemums.

To say that this was getting old fast was a dire understatement. Izaya went up to the chrysanthemums and almost threw them in the trash can, the only thing stopping him being the knock on the door.

He took deep breathes to calm himself before answering, finding the director on the other side. "Hello, Kobayashi-san! I was just checking in to see how you were doing." he announced, a friendly smile on his face that didn't make the informant feel any better.

"Hello, Mr. Watane. I'm doing fine, thank you.." Izaya responded quickly, then thought of something and looked at him again. "But, um.." The pause he gave was obviously enough to make his boss think something was wrong.

"Yes?"

"It's nothing, I've just been stressed lately. Not all of my co-workers have been working in a very professional manner.."

The look Mr. Watane had at that was completely serious. "Karuha, if someone's bothering I want you to tell me." Izaya smiled inwardly as he nodded on the outside. He opened his door further and pointed to the flowers on his desk, inviting his director to look at them and waiting patiently while he did.

"It's sweet and all, it is. But I've been getting them every day and it's a little uncomfortable.. After all, you hear stories about what people do when rejected too often." the informant mumbled, seeing the elder man nod in agreement before coming closer and setting a hand on 'her' shoulder.

"Don't worry, Kobayashi-san, I'll have a talk with him. If this continues then just come see me, I'll sort this out." the man said with determination, receiving a nod before leaving and quietly shutting the door behind him. Izaya stayed where he was, looking polite until the door shut then pumping his hands in the air, feeling proud that not all of his old persuasion had left him. He might be using it for something menial like this, but it was still to suit his interests and he had done it so easily...  _I'm not fucked up after all. I'm bettering myself~_

The informant hummed to himself for another hour on his lonesome, just waiting for Kasuka to get there while he laid out and looked over his lines. Their scenes were getting a lot more meaningful than the ones they'd previously been doing. They were getting to a half-way mark on the series soon and would be once again mixing things up, but besides that him and Kasuka's characters were developing a romance this whole time.

The ravenett thought it was fitting, seeing as they were dating anyways, but it did make him worry that it would lead to them having to do something intimate on camera. He obviously didn't mind doing anything with Kasuka when they were alone, he trusted his boyfriend to no end and actually enjoyed showing affection back on the rare occasions that he did, but doing it for a million people to see was something entirely different..

Anyways, there was finally a knock on his dressing room door and he smiled to himself as he got up to answer, it falling away when he opened it to see Dong-Yul standing there. And he did not look like his happy-go-lucky self.

"What. The. Fuck." Was what Dong-Yul started with, looking down at him with a small glare and his arms crossed. Izaya shifted where he was from the unexpected change but didn't show concern.

"What do you mean, Ki-san?"

"I mean, what the fuck is with telling the director on me!? I didn't do anything but send you presents!"

"Yes, for days straight when I obviously don't like them..."

"You gave me permission to court you, remember that? I'm trying, Kobayashi-kun, really. Why won't you give me a chance" Dong-Yul announced, now sounding more desperate than mad. He moved forward to take hold of both Izaya's hands. "Just tell me what you'd like me to do and I'll do it, I just want one date."

Izaya shifted again slightly, frowning. "Ki-san.. I don't want to date you. You've been trying for months and it hasn't worked, I thought you would've given up by now, honestly.."

"So.. You're saying I never had a chance." The tech manager muttered, oddly quiet at the realization. Izaya actually couldn't read him for a second and just nodded, wondering what the man would do. "Heh.. it's his fault isn't it? Yuuhei.."

Izaya swallowed his nerves as he listened to him, unfamiliar with how to act around a depressed and betrayed Dong-Yul. He glanced passed the man to see his boyfriend stepping out of his dressing room, the informant sending a look of 'help me' towards him before having his attention brought back by a stronger grip on his hands. It was painful and it almost seemed like the other wanted to hurt him but just couldn't.

"Fine. I can't have you, I get it. Just don't come back to me if he leaves your ass.." the man murmured before letting go of his hands and storming off, leaving Izaya to tend to the slight bruises forming on his fingers and the boyfriend running towards him.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Kasuka fussed, getting a nod in response.

"Yeah, I'm fine but I don't think he is." The informant admitted, glancing at the hall he'd disappeared through before looking to the ravenett beside him. "Would it be alright if I stayed in your dressing room for today?"

Kasuka nodded and guided him over, making sure to keep an eye out whenever Dong-Yul got close to either of them for the rest of the week.


	44. Melt Away My Worries

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant sighed as he retreated back to his dressing room, the day over and finally letting him change back into normal clothes. Usually it didn't feel like a blessing to be let off the stage and told to go home, his job being entertaining and all, but lately - this last week in particular - he couldn't help feeling a lot more comfortable in the confines of a closed room.

Ever since he'd broken it to Dong-Yul that he had been leading him on, in the most honest of terms, the Korean had been awfully cold to him. Which was to be expected and Izaya couldn't blame him for it, but the stinging looks he received from him with an obvious intent of harm was something he didn't like feeling for hours at a time in such an open area. The man was in charge of so much, he could easily tamper with something and bring Izaya harm or even something worse..

He never looked like the type though, having the fashion sense of a teenager and the open-mindedness of a child, along with his overbearing nature to show affection towards people - all of those pointed to a completely different side of Dong-Yul than he had been getting this week and it made the informant uncomfortable.

_Stupid human.. You're becoming unpredictable._  he thought to himself, grimacing slightly as he pulled on the last of his normal ensemble. Izaya sighed aloud before double checking that he looked alright and leaving, heading immediately outside and towards a taxi, only slowing down when Kasuka caught up to him. They would usually go back to their separate homes right after work, not wanting to make anyone suspicious, but everyone once in a while they would head off together instead.

"Hey, do you have any assignments tonight?" Kasuka asked him, hands in his pockets instead of holding his boyfriend's, still too close to their work and the front gate.

"I'm free tonight, as far as I know. I might have an email saying otherwise.." the informant replied, glancing at him with a small smile as they went over to Kasuka's limo, which was waiting for them at the curb.

"Good, then we can go out for a while." his boyfriend announced, not making it a question like normal. Izaya glanced at him for it but just nodded, sitting beside him as the car went off.

"And just what did you have in mind, may I ask?" "It's a surprise."

Well, that was new. Usually the actor would just come right out with it or at least tell them why they were going somewhere.  _Interesting.._

The two cuddled during the car ride, only separating when Kasuka let his boyfriend out at his house so he could switch into more comfortable and less effeminate clothing. They were back on the road again in 10 minutes, heading towards their un-disclosed location. "Kasu-kun, seriously, where are we going? We're on the other side of the city!" Izaya finally announced after a while of driving, lifting his head from Kasuka's shoulder to look out the window more clearly and observe the areas of his home that he'd barely ever seen. Sure, he got clients from all over Tokyo but if they were to live or work this far away then he would tell them to come on their own time and meet him closer to his own home, giving himself a lot less hassle.

Kasuka just gave him a smile and held his hand as the drive was soon over, them pulling up into a crowded parking complex and getting their place, hopping out for Izaya to see a large building lit up with streams of people going in. It only took him a moment to realize where they were. "Kasu-kun, you didn't!" he instantly gaped, looking at his boyfriend with wide eyes, only to see the actor looking awfully proud of himself.

"You told me you wanted to see the show, so I made sure to get tickets. It's the last night they're here too, so I'm glad I didn't have to pull you away from your work by force." Kasuka announced, half-joking as he wrapped Izaya in a hug, the informant in front of him almost jumping for joy.

The ravenett wasn't just happy at the fact he was seeing the show, he often didn't want to go out of his way to watch a play or performance at all, but just the fact that Kasuka had been listening to him when he'd been babbling to him for almost two hours straight at some point almost 2 weeks ago and remembered and made sure to do it just for him made him feel so much better after the week he'd had.

"Thank you, Kasu-kun.." Izaya whispered to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek as they finally began walking towards the building and found their seats, a private booth up on the second floor so they wouldn't be surrounded by annoying or pushy crowds. Toren and his girlfriend had been invited to the performance as well, Kasuka saying something about not wanting to make him drive them all the way up here for nothing and offering to pay for their date, at least this part of it, and were in the booth next to theirs so each couple could still be alone.

The play started and the two watched intently, the theatrics and their cuddling distracting the two from noticing a pair of eyes following them from across the theater isles.


	45. Paint Me Paranoid

_ [Izaya's POV] _

Yet another week gone by and nothing new going on; Kasuka had been taking him out for an awful lot of dates lately, trying to make him feel better and happy when not at work, and he'd been getting a regular amount of assignments too, though most of them had been petty ones and could be done in say... 3 hours if he didn't take breaks? Yeah, apparently Shiki was forcing quantity over quality onto him now since he'd been 'disobedient' that while back. The informant was sure that would change back to normal within a couple weeks though, so he didn't worry about it.

As Izaya sat at his desk and worked on one of the dozen assignments he'd received that weekend and been given a week and a half deadline for, he continuously shifted in his office chair, glancing around and across the street as he felt a pair of eyes on him. He had no idea if he was just being paranoid after another weeks span of being given the cold shoulder from a certain admirer or if he was actually being watched - if it was the second option, then it definetly wasn't Shiki's warnings again. Whoever was watching him, if someone was, was very good at their job, not allowing Izaya to pinpoint them even once as they did whatever they were doing.

But either way, he couldn't shake the feeling and he'd even had the gut feeling to push Kasuka away for a couple days, saying that they'd gone on so many wonderful dates that he needed a day or two to himself. The feeling of being watched hadn't gone away when the ravenett came over a couple days ago after all, so if someone was paid to watch him or just felt like observing and stalking him, he didn't want to drag Kasuka into it.

Izaya finally shifted once more before huffing to himself and typing a 'brb' into the chatroom he'd been gathering information from, half-shutting his laptop and taking it with him from his desk and to his bedroom where there was a lot less chance of someone watching him. As expected, once he got into the upstairs hallway the eyes were gone, obviously not being able to watch him if there were no windows there to do it from.

"This is ridiculous.. I can't even be at peace in my own home." the man grumbled to himself, sitting up on his bed with pillows propping him up, his flick-blade sitting beside him if he needed it as he got back to work.

* * *

"Will you stop pulling my hair so tightly!?" Izaya finally snapped after the fourth time his hair had been tugged by the comb running through it, his assistant being not quite as skilled in the process of getting him ready as Shara had been. The product was always much better than before, but getting there had been torture every time. And with not being able to sleep peacefully last night because someone had been noisily trying to get in his front door, obviously not smart enough to look for the spare key and not being a good lock-smith, which had made him have to scare them away with his flick-blade and then retreat to Kasuka's home so he could be surrounded by security... Izaya was not in any mood to be having his hair pulled or for anything to go wrong really.

"Karuha, she didn't mean it. Just think of how pretty your hair will look when she's done, zone out till then." Kasuka advised from where he was on the couch, already dressed and prepared for the next scene. Izaya glared at him through the mirror and saw Kasuka giving him a look to say 'sorry but calm down a little'. He sighed and relaxed again in his chair, Kanesi still paused and waiting for an outburst before she got back to fixing his hair.

The informant couldn't help himself from snapping every now and then, though now they were a lot quieter and not as frequent, calmed down just by Kasuka being there to comfort him. He hadn't told his boyfriend about the stalker - stalkers, maybe? - but he did know that Izaya wasn't doing his best lately, so almost anything he said was something to try and benefit the informant's mood. Even that was getting irritating at the moment, but it was welcome. Kasuka knew he didn't mean any insults given to him either way, so it was fine, the actor said so himself.

The ruby-eyed man let out a sigh of relief as his hair was finally done, letting them go out of his dressing room and onto the stage, finally able to perform. The scene they were doing today was the first time their characters would kiss, so both of them were a little flustered but Kasuka was a master at keeping a straight face and Izaya pounded it into his head that this was business as usual. Even then, they were both blushing for real when they finally got around to it, and the minute the camera turned off was the same moment Izaya was covering his face at the teasing look Kanesi was giving him.

Besides the many teasing looks from the staff, he still couldn't push passed one certain glance that was being thrown at him and piercing him. Izaya looked over his shoulder to see Dong-Yul watching him with a cold stare. They held each other's gaze for a moment before the Korean's expression changed, almost looking smug as he turned away from the scene and went back into the room with dozens upon dozens of cameras. That one look had sent shivers down his spine, the informant not being able to shake off the feeling that he had done something horribly stupid.

Kasuka turned him back to the camera when they were ready to film the next part of the scene, the informant pushing it to the back of his mind and trying not to mess up his lines for the rest of the day he had left.  _And it's gonna be such a long day.._


	46. Mail Call!

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

_I hate this.._

The actor sighed as he laid back in bed, unable to sleep as he thought of Izaya's stressed behavior over the past couple weeks.

He'd tried to be by Izaya's side as much as possible, knowing he needed him even if he pushed him away after a while. His boyfriend shouldn't have to deal with all of those cold looks alone, at least not when they were coming from someone like Dong-Yul.

The man didn't seem dangerous - he seemed like a nuisance. But he did appear to be troublesome that day he'd stopped to ask Kasuka some questions.

* * *

_"Yuuhei-san!" a voice called him, making him turn around on his way to Izaya's dressing room to see Dong-Yul approaching him with a usual smile. "Yuuhei-san, are you going to see Kobayashi-kun right now?"_

_Kasuka just stared at him blankly for that, silently asking him where the hell else he would be going. Yes, his thoughts were a bit more harsh than usual at the moment, but he couldn't help not liking the guy. Dong-Yul was constantly flirting with his boyfriend and making advances on him when they weren't even wanted, being borderline harassment sometimes and always passing it off as him showing Izaya affection. But the boy's actions weren't sweet in the actor's eyes, they were staged and sterile and made to try and get Izaya to fall for him and push Kasuka away. That was why the bastard only gave his more loving displays when the ravenettes were in the same room, so he could show off to them both respectively._

_Dong-Yul, seeing that he wasn't going to respond, continued on. "Okay, so, I was just wondering if Kobayashi-kun had said anything about me lately... Has she? Like, anything, even something bad." the tech director babbled, watching him intently the entire time as he waited for a response._

_And as much as Kasuka just wanted to say "she wishes you'd drop dead", he wouldn't because he hadn't gotten the okay from his boyfriend yet. He'd been told to glare at him and try to keep him away but not outright crush him. So he held his tongue._

_"She said you got her roses. She didn't like them." Kasuka said absently, thinking it would be a safe place to start seeing as it wasn't too personal an answer for 'Kobayashi' and the actor could easily know that just from hanging out with her. Dong-Yul's smile dropped a bit, looking like he was biting his lip before it came back, plastered on even harder than usual._

_"Well, uh, did she say anything else? Liiike, what she **would** like me to get her, maybe?" the man persisted, shifting from foot to foot as they had a sort of staring match. It was inevitable that Kasuka would win, like always, but it seemed that every time they were in the room together Kasuka was either completely ignored or was given full eye-contact while he smiled and fawned over his boyfriend like he fuckin' owned him._

_"No, she didn't say. She doesn't seem to like presents that much at all, really." the ravenett announced, hoping it would get the man to stop sending them. He hadn't sent a lot of them or anything, but if it continued then he might actually find something that Izaya liked and send it to him, getting a little bit closer to his goal. And as much as Kasuka trusted Izaya, he didn't want that to happen._

_The Korean in front of him nodded lightly where they were, still just staring at him expectantly, like he knew he was lying. Kasuka didn't say anything to push the conversation and eventually Dong-Yul picked it up again, asking him various little questions about what Kobayashi liked, or 'seemed to like' as Kasuka tried to keep things vague and act like he didn't know almost everything about his boyfriend._

_When Dong-Yul was finally called away from him to tend to his work, he called it as a blessing and practically ran to Izaya's dressing room, knocking and entering to escape the bastard further._

* * *

To say Kasuka didn't worry about Dong-Yul's advances would be lying; he worried about them almost every day that they went to work, knowing that bastard would be there waiting to prey on his boyfriend. And he knew Izaya could take care of himself, and he knew he shouldn't be thinking so much about some stupid punk that wanted the other when they were already happily together and dating and in love, but he couldn't help it. It was like he was some kind of parasite, trying to feed off of him and Izaya whenever he got the chance.

For the first time in his life, he understood how Shizuo must feel and have felt for all these years when he called Izaya a "flea".

The younger Heiwajima sighed as he got out of bed, and paced around, trying to think of what to do so he would be tired enough for sleep. Nothing came to mind and he finally paced out into his living room, everything the same as a couple hours ago and perfectly in its place except for one thing; a letter sitting on the floor just before his doorway.  _What the shit..._

Kasuka hesitated before walking towards it and picking it up, and seeing as nothing bad happened at just that, he opened it. What he found inside made his stomach twist.


	47. Got Ya

_ [Izaya's POV] _

"Kasuka.. I don't understand." was all the informant could choke out as he watched his boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, stand in front of him with this empty look in his eyes, nothing like the same look he'd been giving him days before that was filled with so much love. Just yesterday they had been hanging out on the couch and talking like they had nothing else in the world, so what had he done to deserve this?

But, in Kasuka's defense, he should have seen this coming. Since a few days ago Kasuka had started talking to him less. It was slight at first, just saying that he was busy and didn't have a lot of time because of work, which Izaya understood. Being famous for a lot longer, of course Kasuka would have more business to attend to than he did. He'd let it slide.

But then it very quickly went from not talking as much to not seeing each other as well, and then slowly him not returning his texts until  _maybe_ a couple hours later or the next day. And he didn't know why. He still didn't know why.

_I didn't do anything wrong, so why are you doing this?_

Kasuka didn't give him many answers either, just saying that they needed to take a break. And when Izaya asked him how long of a break, he didn't get a response, just those now-empty eyes looking down to the floor or the wall or anywhere that wasn't his own eyes.

And the informant knew he was crying, tears were running down his face and dropping onto his carpet but he didn't feel them and he was still silent as he waited for some kind of answer. Eventually, after an eternity of silence, Kasuka spoke again.

"I'm really sorry, Izaya. It's just.. It's not working out at the moment." he apologized again - he seemed to be doing that an awful lot for being the one to break this off, one would think Izaya should be the one asking for forgiveness about whatever he'd done to cause Kasuka to leave him, but he still didn't know what he'd done and he almost wanted to slam the door in his ex-boyfriend's face instead of taking the house key that was being handed back to him, supposedly unneeded now.

With shaky hands, he took the key back and waited for something else to be said, having no idea what to do in this situation. The silence dragged on and on again, neither seeming like they wanted to speak but neither wanted to leave either, just staying where they were.

Finally, Kasuka whispered a soft goodbye and turned to walk down the hall, eyes still cast on the floor the entire time and not turning to look back at him.

That was the final straw. The moment Izaya realized he wasn't going to turn back around, that he was serious about this and that he was leaving him, really leaving him behind and alone after all that they'd done, all that Kasuka had done to him - he finally broke down, his knees hitting the floor as he let out the first choked sob, more following until he was a mess where he once stood.

_"Wake up!"_

* * *

Izaya jumped out of his covers as his eyes shot open, mind still processing what was happening as he looked around his room, everything as it should be and how he'd left it when he went to bed last night.  _Last night.. Yeah.. I worked too late and came up here to go to bed and I did, Kasuka never came to my door.. So what the hell was that?_

His eyes finally locked on his assistant standing a couple inches away, a genuinely worried expression on her face as she watched him look around like he was lost. "Namie.. Why did you wake me up?" he asked softly, mind still too frozen for him to even fake sounding upset. He was grateful really, though he'd never tell her that, at least to her face. She'd probably just laugh anyways.

"You, uh... I came in since it's pretty late and you were asleep, and when I came in you were.." Namie paused, like there were two options of how to continue. "You were having a nightmare, so I thought I'd spare you. You do pay me so I can't just let you get all out of it and shit." his assistant played off, looking at him as he nodded, still wondering why she had paused a second ago.

"Noted. Now can you get me my cellphone?" Izaya asked, finally being able to mask his confusion now that he was fully awake.

"Sure, which one,  _your fucking highness?_ " Namie replied, once again making Izaya feel grateful for her hiding emotions as well. If she did give a shit, then this was not the time for her to be showing it and neither of them wanted to deal with that. It would be best if they just kept the professional 'do what I say or your fired' relationship. It was natural for them, either way.

"The touch-screen, it's dark blue." he answered, laying back in his bed while she left to go grab it from his desk. When his head hit the pillow he almost jumped again, the mass feeling odd to him for some reason before looked at it, seeing that it was wet.  _Fucking shit, she saw me cry... Now I'll have to pay her double for a week so she doesn't mention it._

The informant grimaced at himself and flipped the pillow over so he could lay on it comfortably, rubbing his heavy eyes as he pulled his thoughts together. That dream had been so real to him, all the facts that had been in it were true too; Kasuka was talking to him less and seemed to be going back in his shell with him more and more, and he had no idea why. To say that his nightmare wouldn't come true could be a lie, he had never been able to fully read his boyfriend, but if that was the case...

Namie came back with his phone and she handed it to him, getting a nod of acknowledgement to tell her she could leave and she did, not even questioning it. He quickly dialed his boyfriend's number and waited patiently for an answer, upset that he had to call twice but smiling to himself in relief when he finally picked up.

"Hey, Izaya. What's up?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you were finally free today.."

There was a pause on the other side and for a moment Izaya thought he was going to say he was busy again, but he finally responded.

"Yeah.. Yeah, I am. Do you wanna meet up at Russia Sushi?"

Izaya had never felt so relieved in his life.

"Of course. I'll be there soon."


	48. I'll Wait For You

_[Kasuka's POV]_

Kasuka sat at the table impatiently, fidgeting with his hands while he looked around Russia Sushi. He probably looked like one of those uncomfortable loners at the moment who got stood up, from his expression, but he just couldn't wait to see his boyfriend again.

He hadn't lied to the man when he'd told him that he had work, he had been working on sponsors and random things that were supposed to gain them a couple grand for advertisements but whenever Izaya called and asked if he could come over, his mind just went back to that damn envelope.

The ravenett calmed himself down and ran a hand through his hair to straighten it out again, though it probably wasn't needed. It's not like all of his stress would suddenly make him look terrible, he'd even made sure he looked extra nice for Izaya since this would be the first time they saw each other in a week but just trying to straighten himself out made him calmer.

Izaya finally appeared in the doorway and smiled at him lightly as he got closer, sliding in across from him and reaching out to hold his hand. And from how quickly he did it, without even saying hello, Kasuka knew he was missed as well. His mind went to the envelope again and he tried to push it away, holding Izaya's outstretched hand tightly in return with a smile. "Hey, why did you want to see me so suddenly?" the actor asked, seeing his boyfriend roll his eyes.

"It's not sudden, I've been trying to reach you all week, remember?" the informant huffed, leaning back and making it hard to hold hands but they could still touch each other's fingertips, which was enough, especially now. His boyfriend suddenly frowned. "So, what have you been up to all week, anyways? You've never been this occupied unless you had to travel somewhere and you've barely even texted me.."

Kasuka let out a small hum of acknowledgement at that, glancing around the building again nervously for anyone that looked familiar. Of course there was Simon, but he didn't count him at the moment. "Well, uh.."  _Shit, should I really tell him? I mean, it's the first time we're together in a week.. I want him to enjoy this first._  "It's a lot going on, I'll let you know later. Let's order first, yeah?" he offered, glancing at Simon who came over to ask them which sushi they wanted.

Izaya didn't look comfortable with the misdirection but didn't mention it, placing his order and continuing to hold his hand while they chatted away. After that things seemed almost back to normal; they were laughing and talking and teasing each other like usual and Kasuka smiled brightly the entire time. Of course they were both still thinking of what Kasuka was going to tell him once they were done with their meal, it was obvious from the lapses they had in conversation being a bit longer than usual but they both tried to keep it at bay.

Finally their sushi was gone and they were full, letting them know it was finally time to head off. Once the bill was paid and they were in Kasuka's limo there was nothing to distract them from the silence surrounding them. The two sat side by side quietly until they were finally to Kasuka's home, in the door and settled on the couch; Kasuka was wiping his hands on his jeans.

"Alright, say something. Something's been keeping you from me all week, so just tell me what it is." Izaya demanded after a moment, the smile from earlier gone from his face and just a look of concern in it's place, like he'd already heard the news and didn't want it repeated. For a second Kasuka thought he must have gotten an envelope as well, but then pushed it away, thinking his boyfriend would never be this calm if he had.

"Okay, well.. A little while ago I got something delivered to my door, and.. You know how Dong-Yul has been lately, I think it was from him but I can't be sure, but-"

"Kasuka, you're babbling.. What did he send you?" Izaya stressed, frowning now as he watched him. The actor glanced up at him before biting the inside of his cheek and standing up, going over to a drawer and pulling out the now-opened envelope before going back to hand it to his boyfriend.

"I found this slid under my door, I just.. I don't know if it's a threat to you or me, or both of us, but I don't like it.." Kasuka muttered, nervously moving his hands again as he watched Izaya take out the picture that had been inside it.

The ravenett grew pale for a second and opened his mouth to say something before suddenly his cheeks flushed and he scowled, taking the picture in both hands and ripping it to pieces. He dropped them onto the floor and all that was left was a shredded image of them together on Izaya's desk, being a lot less than innocent. It was up close and personal as well, obviously not able to be taken from anywhere other than the informant's laptop.

Kasuka just waited for him to say something in silence as Izaya put his head in his hands, always being the more private of the two of them and obviously being caught between mortification and murderous intent. Everything was quiet for what seemed like eternity until Izaya finally picked up his head again.

"I'm so sorry.." he muttered, face still red and his eyes starting to water. The actor was by his side in a second, wrapping his arms around him tightly to try and stop him from crying.

"Izaya, this isn't your fault."

"Who else's fault could it be!? They took the picture from my webcam, didn't they? They're sending it to you as a threat for a reason and whether it's Dong-Yul or someone else, the reason for it is definetly me!"

Kasuka just bit his lip as he looked at him, continuing to try and comfort him silently.

"Kasuka, you've been avoiding me for a week. When you got THIS sent to you, didn't you think I had the right to know!? You're not the only one in that picture!"

"I know that."

"Then why didn't you say anything!?"

"What the fuck was I supposed to say!? 'Hey, sorry I haven't spoken to you in two days, maybe three days, I got sent some black-mail with no context and no idea what terms this fucker wants from me to even stop it from getting out.'? How would that have helped? Any contact with you at all could have made this guy send it, saying your  **name** could make this guy send it, what was I supposed to do!?"

Izaya shut his mouth at that, still looking enraged but mostly lost at the obvious logic.

There was nothing else that had come with the picture, not even anything written on the back of it; it was just a blank envelope with an obvious threat in it and no way for him to know what he could do, right or wrong. Kasuka had just done what he thought would be best, keeping away from his boyfriend to try and keep it from getting out while he tried to find someone that could figure out where the letter had come from, but he hadn't gotten any luck.

The informant next to him finally let out a sigh of defeat and brushed his bangs out of his face, staring at the floor.

"You're right. I'm sorry.." Izaya muttered, moving his hand up to hold Kasuka's as they both calmed down from their outbursts.

"It's okay. I'm sorry for not telling you earlier, I just didn't know what to do.. I still don't know what to do.." the actor admitted, leaning back on his couch and bringing Izaya with him as the informant rested his head back on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Maybe the guy that sent it just did to scare us? I know a lot of people that think that would be a much better punishment than actually sending it out anywhere." Izaya mumbled, obviously searching through his thoughts for something that could help them. Kasuka nodded absently and did the same, not coming up with anything but bad endings to this scenario.

"Maybe. But, this guy could still be watching us right now and know that we made contact, so if he was going to send us any terms at all.. Then we'll probably be getting them soon." Kasuka thought aloud. He glanced at the curtains in his living room, currently closed but still suspicious to him, not knowing what he could trust at this point.

Izaya was quiet for a moment before he sat up, glancing back at Kasuka. "That's the most likely to happen as this point, so.. I guess, until either of us get something, we should just keep away from each other… right?" he asked. Kasuka opened his mouth to say 'no, I want to stay together' but he closed it again quickly, knowing that wasn't the right option. He nodded slowly before sitting back up as well, pulling his boyfriend into his lap and into a hug, keeping him held tightly to his chest for a couple moments to get out all that he'd wanted to do for the last week. Finally, they pulled apart and shared a peck on the lips before Izaya stood up.

"Well.. If you need me, then I'll be home. Don't bother calling me on Skype, the camera in my laptop is definetly being taken out…" the informant said softly, obviously stalling the goodbye. Kasuka gave him a tiny, forced smile before sighing and squeezing his hand.

"If I get anything else about this then I'll let you know at work. It's the only place we have an excuse to talk… I'll cya later." Kasuka muttered finally, getting a hum in return before his boyfriend finally left, retreating to the door and leaving Kasuka alone in his home.


	49. Time For A New One

_[Izaya's POV]_

Izaya sat at his desk, absently tapping his fingers on the surface in front of his laptop, biting his lip as he glanced between his fingers and the now-covered camera on the machine. It had only been two days since he'd seen Kasuka and found out about the photo, but he was currently contemplating how he should handle the situation.

He had told his boyfriend that he would wait for a letter discussing the terms of their separation in patience, only speaking to him at work or about work, but it was just so hard for him to wait. Along with having a bad attention span, he also wasn't one to wait on anything, being a man of action. He would always take action when called for and handle things swiftly with precision, and he knew that he could probably do the same with this - he wasn't the best hacker in the world, at least not when it came to this type of hacking, but he knew a thing or two of how to trace back to a source.  _I can just try and see if anything comes up. This guy is no where near as good as we're giving him credit for, surely.._

With that, he lifted his hands back up to the keyboard, fingers tapping quickly to form a code and soon there were at least 6 windows open with just programming codes and interfaces, his eyes glancing between them quickly to try and find something out of place.  _This is why you don't stop practicing, Izaya. This is so much harder than it had been a couple years ago…_  he thought to himself as he examined the codes, seeing slight differences in place already but noting that he was the one that caused those with all the extra firewalls and duplicates of them that he had created to try and make his own network unavailable to anyone besides him.  _All that time wasted.._

The informant just sighed as he continued, frowning when he couldn't find a single trace of the guy that had done this. Yes, he was still referring to the culprit as 'the guy' since there were quite a lot of people besides Dong-Yul that could have done this and were a lot smarter than him as well.  _I have fucked over a lot of people working for Shiki too, so it might not even be someone I know personally._

Izaya scowled at his computer screen when there was still no trace of anything wrong, giving him the impression whoever did it was better at covering his tracks than he was at being subtle. He was just about to close out of the programming before he spotted something, a string of code that was new, the log stating that it had only been added a couple weeks ago, and since it didn't correspond with anything he could have made as in folders or files or things like that, he immediately looked into it.

Thing was, as soon as he put in the analysis code and input the identification, the screen flashed saying that there had been an error. He tried again another two times, each with different input sequences, before his computer froze and began crashing only a moment later.

The informant watched his wide eyes before he simply slid down in his desk chair, running his fingers through his hair. "Fucker.. Now I need to watch my back  _and_ probably get a whole new laptop." Izaya growled to himself, feeling a headache forming as he glanced at his door, waiting irritably for some kind of letter to show up again. Of course there was none, he didn't have that kind of luck, but it slightly eased his impatience whenever he cast a glance over, hoping for and dreading the terms they could get.

After having stared at the one spot under his door for 10 minutes, he finally sighed and stood up, closing his laptop and heading off to wander around the house and busy himself with cleaning. For once he wished he hadn't told Namie to do better when dusting his things, because it now left him with even less to distract himself with.  _Fucker, fucker, fucker.. Why does this stuff always happen to me?_

* * *

_[Kasuka's POV]_

The actor paced impatiently around his home, waiting and dreading yet trying to not think about the letter he could be receiving at any moment. This was torture for him; he'd already had to avoid his beloved for their safety once and now he had to do it again until God knows when. And he couldn't even text him or anything, in fear of the picture getting out or an actual, life-threatening announcement being made.

Then there was the question in his mind about what they would do when the letter  _did_ come. Would they listen to it? Would they ignore it? Would whoever was doing this reveal himself?

They had no idea what this person even wanted.

They could want Izaya dead, maimed, put into prison, taken as prisoner.. Then they could want Kasuka instead, or even along with Izaya for some reason, maybe to hold a ransom or make a statement, or maybe it could just be a crazy fan-girl trying to steal him, literally steal him, and not want him with or near Izaya.

There were so many options it was terrifying. And there was nothing to tell them which it was unless they just sat down and fucking  _waited!_ How fucked up was that!?  _They could have at least given us the terms when they sent the picture, then we could be following their rules already, getting whatever needed to be done done or making proper preparations to handle this. Even for a stalker, this is just too cruel._

Kasuka sighed and finally sat down on his couch, head in his hands as he tried to focus on something else for a while, anything to let himself relax a little bit before he got the bad news. Then his phone rang, it turned up on the highest volume in case the stalker wanted to call them and explain the terms themselves instead of by letter, and he answered it quickly.

"Hello?" he answered, almost shouting on accident. There was a sound on the other side before he got a response.

"Hey ototo, uh.. Were you expecting someone?" Shizuo asked on the other side, obviously confused. Kasuka face-palmed before pushing his bangs out of his face again with a sigh.

"No, no I... " Kasuka started, then paused, thinking over the situation for a second before he cleared his throat. "Actually, I was just about to call you. Sorry about shouting. Can I head over to your house for the day?" the younger Heiwajima asked, hearing a small grunt on the other side to show his brother was thinking.

"Yeah, come on over. You sure you're alright?" the blond asked him, even across a phone call being able to sense something was up.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Just a little stressed from work. Anyways, I'll be over soon. Cya." the actor announced, trying to sound calm and collected before getting a farewell in return and hanging up.

_Alright… Okay, this is good. Shizuo hates Izaya but.. If I told him that I was in trouble then he can't be too focused on him, right? He'll help me no matter who I'm dating.. Everything will be fine._ He told himself, perking up a bit as he went to his room and changed, then headed out to find his sibling's home once more.


	50. Welcome Back, Asshole

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

"Alright - so you and Izaya are being blackmailed, have no idea what you're supposed to do, and have no idea who is actually doing the blackmailing. Right?" Shizuo repeated back to him, just to double check that he'd gotten everything straight in his head. Kasuka nodded quickly, just waiting for him to continue.

"And you won't tell me what the picture Izaya ripped up was actually of because you're embarrassed." Another nod in response. "And you want me to help, along with Celty and Shinra so that we can find the bastard."

"Yes, that's exactly what I said, aniki.." Kasuka muttered, just wishing his brother would get right to point in situations like this. He almost felt like the other was just tormenting him with all the questions back because it involved his boyfriend anyway.

Shizuo nodded with a small sigh, obviously angry and uncomfortable with the situation as he tried to think of something to help his baby brother. Everything was quiet for a couple moments as they both thought, just glancing at each other. Finally, the blond sat up again.

"Well, the only thing I can think of that would help us would be to do a DNA thing on the picture you were sent. But Izaya threw it away." Shizuo grumbled, making Kasuka sigh again softly because he knew Shizuo wouldn't be this compliant to help in the first place if Izaya was the only one who needed help.

"No, we still have the picture. It's just.. In pieces now. Which probably makes finding prints on it a lot harder.." Kasuka replied, watching the other scowl. Shizuo muttered something to himself before focusing again.

"Right. So, we'll need to get the picture and head it over to Shinra's so he can run tests on it, then we can grab your dumbass of a partner and have him get information on whoever's name we pull up from the first results." Shizuo announced, making Kasuka blink at how quickly he thought of that. Sure, he had never once thought that his brother was stupid but he put a plan together so quickly it almost made Kasuka himself feel dumb. The younger Heiwajima went over the plan once in his head and nodded, deciding that this could work out really well if they did in fact end up getting some prints from it.

"Okay, I can go grab the picture and give it to him right away.. Thanks aniki." Kasuka announced, glancing up at his big brother, who was keeping a straight face for a moment before he was smiling like usual again.

"It's nothing, ototo. You want me to come with you, in case this guy decides to attack you?" Shizuo offered, watching the other as he stood and turned towards the door. Kasuka glanced back at him to say it wasn't needed but the look on the other's face let him know that he wouldn't be getting away with that.

"Sure. Come on, the faster we do this the faster this guy can be caught." Kasuka relented, walking out the door with his sibling in tow, back on the way to his house.  _I hope this actually works.._

* * *

_[Izaya's POV]_

The informant now sat in Shinra's waiting room/living room as he waited for the results of the testing said doctor was putting their picture and envelope through, a blond debt-collector sat across from him with his arms crossed. The room was dead silent as they both waited, for once neither fighting with each other and Izaya couldn't even try to tease him about something. He just didn't have it in him at the moment.

Shizuo had been...  _kind_  enough to actually help them in this situation, even if it did involve his arch-enemy, and had told Shinra to call Izaya with some bullshit reason to come over as well, just so he could be there for the results as well. But when he'd gotten the news that Shinra was running the tests on it to find out who did this, he just felt sick to his stomach. One of his closest friends was looking at a picture of him and his boyfriend getting it on, and examining it intently as well, even if not for the picture - Celty was probably looking at it too, even though she would be a lot more professional about it probably. Even then, the thing that bothered him the most was who they could possibly blame this on.

If they ran the tests and it did turn out to be Dong-Yul, well things wouldn't be too hard for him. He already had a good amount of information on the man before this happened, even though he might need to gather it again once he got his laptop back or went to get a new one. But, if it happened to not be him, almost anyone besides him, then they could be in a lot of trouble tracking them down, following their terms if they ever fucking got any, and then have some troubles bringing him down if he was this good in the first place.

Izaya couldn't even pinpoint who  _could_ be responsible for all of this outside his own personal life.

So, he just sat in silence on the couch and stared at his hands as he waited impatiently. It felt like an eternity had passed before Shinra's door opened up again and he came out with a paper, handing it to Izaya with a, for once, serious expression. "Good news, we have a name to match the prints.. Does it ring a bell to you at all?" the doctor asked him, glancing behind him as Celty came out of the room as well, helmetless, and came up to wait for his answer as well.

_**'Tarakano Shin'** _

The informant looked over the name and tried his best to match it to a face, but in the end he couldn't recognize a single thing about it. "It doesn't look familiar, but.. A lot of my customers ask for things under an alias when their requests are bad, maybe that's it." he muttered, setting down the paper and pulling out his cell phone, tapping in the name to search and waiting for what came up. There was a fairly large list of individuals who came up so he racked his brain to try and narrow it down. He ended up excluding people who didn't live or rent apartments in the area of Tokyo, then excluded anyone from a certain age down, knowing it would take a lot of knowledge to do what he did.

The list kept getting shorter and shorter as he thought, finally only being down to 5 people and he sifted through them to see if any of their faces looked familiar to him. The first four were total strangers to him, not even looking like people he could associate with, and finally he looked at the fifth, knowing he'd never seen this person before but him somehow looking familiar. He stared at it, hoping to ring a bell somehow, then proceeded to track down this specific 'Tarakano Shin', looking through what records he could find on his phone since his laptop was currently out of commission.

"Well, do you fuckin' have anything?" Shizuo finally huffed from across the living room, teeth gritted as he watched his enemy taking, apparently, too long to find an answer.

"I think I have something but this is going to take a minute, so shut the fuck up, you neanderthal!" Izaya snapped, looking up at him with a glare that actually made Shizuo's own snarl fall, obviously not expecting him to snap back, just to smirk and taunt him about being impatient. The doctor and Dullahan beside him were also shocked, continuing to remain quiet as they sat on the couch as well.

Izaya went back to doing what he did best and frowned as he hit a wall or two, quickly working around them before he finally got what he wanted, the man's original name. He looked it over for a second before he blinked once, unable to believe that this was the man that had tried to come in between him and Kasuka. Well.. he could very fully believe it after all he'd done to him, but he hadn't even thought about this particular person for years now, thinking that he had been gone for good.

"Izaya, what is it? Let me see the name." Shinra prompted, making a grab for his phone before Izaya gave him a weak glare, pulling it out of his reach.

"Well, I know why this fucker wants us miserable now... The one that did it was Ikeda Nakura." Izaya announced finally, glancing at Shinra as he obviously tried to recognize the name as well before he went slack jawed.

"Wait, that guy!? I thought he moved, or died, or something!" the doctor announced, making both Celty and Shizuo glance at them.

"So this guy was a personal buddy to both of you?" Shizuo asked them, getting a quick shake of the head from both the informant and doctor.

"No, almost the opposite. He attacked Shinra when we were still in middle school and after that I tried to make his life hell. I made him change schools because of rumors and lies almost four times before his family went to move the States. Even then I kept watching him until he screwed himself over and shot someone, maybe two people I don't remember that bit.. it was by accident, but he did it in plain view of everyone so... I thought he got life in prison for that." Izaya finished with a mumble, rubbing his eyes as he felt it crash down on him that this really  _was_  his fault after all. He'd known it the whole time but it had made him feel a little better when Kasuka denied it before.

_And I had really thought it was Dong-Yul for a while there.._ Shinra and Izaya just glanced at each other while Shizuo seemed to have decided he'd had enough. The blond stood and gave a goodbye to them, muttering something about letting Kasuka know about this before he headed towards the door, where he suddenly stopped.

"Uh, guys?" the debt collector announced, glancing back at them to see Shinra coming towards him, obviously curious. The doctor paused for a moment as well before walking further and bending down to pick something up. The second letter.


	51. Game Plan

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

The actor looked over at his phone as it started ringing, still apprehensive but taking it in his hand. He actually read who was calling this time before answering and he was surprised to see it was his boyfriend.  _It must be important if he's actually contacting me..._

Kasuka answered it and gave a greeting before he heard his boyfriend instantly tell him to come over to Shinra's. "Why, what happened?"

"We got the second letter. It has orders in it." Izaya said simply, making him tense slightly before nodding to himself despite knowing that the other could't see it.

"Alright, I'll be right there.." he muttered before hanging up and quickly leaving the house, not wanting to hesitate even a moment on finding out what they had to do.

_But why did they take it to Shinra's house? Had they been watching me and Shizuo that intently? What the fuck is going on..._

The actor was in front of the doctor's door within half an hour, much too long in his opinion, but he'd done the best he could with so many people being out and about at this time of day. And despite his manners, he didn't even try knocking before entering the man's home and work-place and seeing Izaya sat on the couch while Celty and Shinra were obviously contemplating something.

"I'm here. Did anyone read it yet?" Kasuka announced from where he stood in the entry-way, looking between them all and glancing to the side, seeing his brother was still here and giving him a nod.

"Yeah, we did.. Bastard wants you two to meet up with him somewhere." Shizuo answered for Izaya, who was currently looking over the letter they had gotten with a frown on his face, almost scowling. Kasuka just gave a small nod to the response, not sure what to feel at the moment. If they met up with him they could get this resolved but it obviously wouldn't be so easy to do that, it never was in movies or anything like that, and he didn't see real life making it much easier for them.

Kasuka went over to sit next to his boyfriend, glancing at the letter and beginning to read it.

**'So, you finally figured me out? It took you long enough. I've had this letter ready before even sending out the first one.**

**I'm sure you're wondering what the terms I have are for you two to not have your lives ruined. They're very simple, don't worry.**

**If both of you come to meet me on the roof of the Shinjuku Park Tower at 11 pm, then I won't send out the picture. You just have to come see me.**

**But if you send someone else, bring weapons with you to harm me or tell the cops where we'll be meeting, then the deal is off and I'll set up for this picture to be sent to Izaya's employer and to be plastered around the city, maybe even on a few big screens~**

**If you don't show up at all.. Well, I make no promises about anything.'**

Kasuka reread it once and then another time before groaning and rubbing his eyes in exasperation. "What the fuck is this guy thinking?" he muttered to himself, looking up when Izaya glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"He's thinking that he can get payback on me for something I did to him a long time ago. The DNA test worked, we found out who it is." the informant explained, leaning back in his seat with a deep sigh as he looked up to stare at the ceiling. "So.. Are we going to just go there unarmed like he said?" the ravenett asked further, not looking at Kasuka but instead at Shizuo, since the blond was still seething across from them.

"No, you aren't! At least, Kasuka isn't. I don't care what the damn letter said, we have to think of something before anyone does anything." the blond announced, glaring at the informant, probably just for suggesting it. Shinra and Celty finally came back into the conversation, standing side by side with a frown on their, his, face.

"If you don't listen to him then that picture will go everywhere. Even if I don't think this is the worst thing in the world, you should still play it safe and at least follow most of his instruction.." Shinra said to them, once again being uncharacteristically serious. Kasuka just looked up at him with a look of surprise before he glared at him, a rare thing for the actor.

"And just how is this not the worst thing in the world?" the ravenett demanded, seeing Shinra's eyes widen.

"Well.. I was just thinking that you're an actor, you're famous and tons of famous people are in a relationship, sexual ones, and that information getting out never really hurt them unless of course it wasn't consensual... Which is obviously is, since you guys are the cutest couple around." the doctor went on, smiling at the end and getting another glare from the actor, along with Izaya.

"Shinra, stay on topic." the informant demanded.

"Right, right. And Izaya's just an informant! Uh.. I didn't mean the 'just' part but ya know.. It's not like being in a relationship was ever forbidden from you, was it?" Shinra watched Izaya for a second as Izaya thought, then shook his head to say it wasn't. "Exactly! I mean, I can understand that you wouldn't want it getting out, just showing the picture to  _me_  was embarrassing and I've already seen you naked before." Izaya covered his face at that with a groan. "So despite the temporary embarrassment, everything would be fine after it got out, wouldn't it?"

Kasuka just looked at his boyfriend, both of them having an almost pained look on their face from the secret of Izaya's second job. "Shinra.. You're right, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but we have a personal life together and we desperately want to keep it personal. Please, just help us get to this guy without getting ourselves killed." Kasuka proceeded, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders to bring him closer.

Celty and Shinra glanced at each other once more, everyone ignoring the irritated but understanding look Shizuo was giving the couple in front of him, and finally just agreed to it.

**[We'll think of something. Promise.] [For now, just head back to your homes and act like you normally would. We'll meet up with you behind Shinjuku Park to let you know our plan or call you even before that.] [Take care..]**


	52. Faces of Doom

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

_Alright, we can do this.._  Kasuka thought to himself, walking down the street hand in hand with his boyfriend. They were only a couple blocks from the Shinjuku Park Towers and he was getting more and more nervous, tightening and un-tightening his grip subconsciously until Izaya gave a squeeze back, making him smile. "Thanks."

The two of them kept walking together until they got to the spot where they were to meet up with Shinra, Celty and Shizuo. Shinra was already there, frowning down at his phone momentarily before glancing up and seeing the couple approach. "Hey, Shinra.. How are things looking?" Izaya spoke up first, both of them watching the man's face.

"It isn't looking very good.. Celty's going around now and looking over the area, and almost everywhere in the surrounding block seems to be visible from there except for this side-walk right along here. If any of us were going to come up after you, it would have to be directly from the park and once you've already started talking with him." the doctor reported with a sigh, reading a new text that he received before pocketing his phone. "Celty will be here in a minute."

Kasuka nodded at that, taking a moment to turn and look around. "Do you have any idea where Shizuo is?" he asked suddenly, knowing his brother wouldn't be late to something like this for no reason. They only had twenty minutes until the set time and to even walk through the park and get inside would take about 15.  _Hope Nakura isn't the scarily-punctual type._

Shinra just shrugged and Izaya didn't answer, obviously not being the person to know. Everything was quiet for a moment as they waited for Celty and Shizuo, there not being anything to say in this situation, at least not with Shinra there to listen to them. Kasuka wanted to tell his boyfriend that if anything happened he would try to protect him and that if something went wrong he still loved him and always would. He had no idea what to expect when they got up there, so he didn't know whether to be optimistic or say his goodbyes early to the other. Somehow he felt like doing both would be best and he bit his lip once before leaning over and giving Izaya a kiss on the cheek, then on the lips.

The informant looked at him in surprise before moving closer to hug him, seeming to get the message as they just stood there holding each other, Shinra still on the look out for his own love to give them a little privacy. Finally she came up on her motorcycle, the whiny echoing once before she shut it off and looked between them.  **[Any news on Shizuo?]**

"No. But if he doesn't come in a minute or two then we'll have to go without him.." Izaya announced, getting a look from Kasuka and Shinra. "What? It said in the letter that if we don't show up, he isn't making promises. If we're too late and he thinks we really aren't coming, then he might send out the picture a minute before we get there." the informant reasoned, getting a nod of understanding back.

"You're right.. And it looks like he's out of time, too." Kasuka muttered, glancing at the clock on his phone before putting it away again. "C'mon, let's not make this guy wait too long." And with that, the four of them started cutting through the park, Kasuka anxiously glancing up at the building that was just in view the whole time. A couple feet before they reached the entrance, Shinra and Celty stopped walking with them, staying where they could still be considered out of sight.

"If possible, text me when you're almost at the top of the building. Celty will try to help you guys however she can once you're up there." the doctor explained, getting two warm farewells from them before they continued on together, heading inside the building and taking the elevator almost directly to the top. The two of them stopped two floors from the top so they could find the stairwell and walk up it, both of them blinking in surprise when they opened the door and looked inside to see Shizuo sitting on the steps.

"What.. the fuck are you doing here?" Kasuka asked in surprise, eyes wide as the blond looked up at them with a smirk, like he was proud of himself.

"I thought that since we wouldn't be able to come up with you without him seeing, then one of us would have to come in before  _he_ did. And he probably wouldn't be here too much earlier than 11 himself, so I came in here around 2 hours ago and just wandered around for a while so I wouldn't have to sneak around him." Shizuo announced, the actor and informant processing that for a second before looking at each other.

"Protozoan.. When did you grow a second brain cell?" Izaya announced beside him, making Kasuka smile a bit despite the circumstances as he watched Shizuo's smile instantly fall and he gritted his teeth.

"I got a hell of a lot more than two of 'em, you flea! Now get your ass up there before you're late! I'll be right behind you guys, listening to see if anything goes wrong." the blond growled, glaring at the informant before they walked passed, the blond ruffling his little brother's hair once before letting him continue. The smaller Heiwajima gave him a nod and smile of acknowledgement before continuing up with his boyfriend.

They reached the door that stood between them and Nakura, both taking a deep breath before Kasuka reached out to grip the door handle. "Alright.. Time to get this over with." he muttered, mostly to himself, before opening it and stepping out into the night air. It was cold already, the wind howling lightly from their height, but they barely felt it as they froze in surprise, eyes wide at the person who was in front of them.

Leaning against the railing of the building wasn't Nakura, but Dong-Yul, who brandished a wide smirk on his face, obviously enjoying their shock. "Surprise! Thought I wasn't a problem anymore, huh?" the youth announced, the smirk on his face getting wider as Izaya furrowed his brows beside him.

"What the hell are you doing here? Where's Nakura?" he demanded, Kasuka and Izaya both almost jumping out of their skin when there was a laugh from behind the stair-well summit. A man stepped out from behind it, knife in hand as he smiled at them.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm here too~ It's a pleasure to see you again, Orihara-san."


	53. Deadly Midunderstandings

_[Izaya's POV]_

_What.. what?_

Izaya spun around to watch the man behind them, knowing he was the more dangerous of the two. Well, he thought so... With everything that's happened in the last couple weeks he couldn't be sure of anything. Especially not with his old enemy staring him in the face, a cold smirk on his features that was almost equal to one of Izaya's old ones.

Nakura kept his gaze on the informant more so than the other, making Izaya nervous despite thinking it was a good thing. He could defend himself well, he knew many tactics, but Kasuka was only an actor - even if he'd been taught self defense it surely hadn't come in handy for him much yet outside of the stage, at least not that the ravenett had ever seen.

For now, he just hoped Dong-Yul would be easy and not try to go for the other while he dealt with the real problem.

"So, Orihara-san. How have you been since we last saw each other? It sure has been a long time…" Nakura started pleasantly, the smirk never leaving his face as he watched the other's apprehension. When Izaya didn't respond, the smirk only got a fraction smaller. "Oh, c'mon, not even a hello? I thought I would deserve one after all this time learning how to outwit you. Not many people do that, I've heard." he continued, not waiting for an answer this time as he took a step closer.

The way that he had moved let Izaya know he was just trying to threaten him at the moment, not hurt him physically, so he stood his ground and tried to not look as stiff as he was. "Why would you waste your time learning to do that? Last time I checked you were in the states, a good enough distance to never even think about me again." Izaya noted, watching him as he nodded with a dark chuckle.

"Yes, well.. They didn't like me much over there either. A troublemaker doesn't get the best treatment in any country, after all. And I caused so much trouble to get back at you then that they stuck me in prison… Hell of a way to live." Nakura hummed, just getting Izaya's narrowing eyes watching closer as a response. The man kept taking steps closer as they stared, Izaya only backing own when he was within distance to charge at him.

He walked backwards until Kasuka stopped him with his arm. "All he's doing is pushing you closer to Dong-Yul. Don't be stupid." Kasuka warned him, probably not meaning to sound harsh, and it was easy for Izaya to not take it that way. They were just each other's back-up after all.

Izaya wanted to glance behind him and look to see if Dong-Yul had moved from his position yet, but he also didn't want to take his eyes off of his main threat.

"Alright, so you wanted revenge. I get it. I'm sure at least a million people feel the same way about me." the ravenett admitted, keeping his ground again. "But if you just wanted revenge, then what's Dong-Yul doing here?" Izaya demanded, seeing Nakura shift from a smirk to smile at the question.

"I'm so glad you asked! I was waiting for you to cut this chase." the man announced. " _My_  whole reason for doing this is simple; you made me miserable, you hurt me and almost got me killed twice. You made me have to change my entire life more than one time and move all the way to a different country where the problem didn't even  **stop**.. and then just forgot about my existence once I was put into that hell-hole of a prison.." Nakura noted at the end, frowning now as he watched them, hand tightening it's grip on the knife in his hand. "But it seems I wasn't the only one you screwed over while I was gone. Poor Ki-san here just wanted a fuckin'  _date_  and you couldn't step off of your pedistal for two seconds to give him your time. Of course he would want to see you hurt~ So, when I followed you to see what you were doing nowadays, instead of doing informant work like you should have been I saw you were with  _him,_  breaking this poor boy's heart.. I'm only being generous by letting him see what I can do to you two."

There was a noise from behind Izaya, obviously coming from Dong-Yul and he took the very small chance to glance behind him and see what he was doing. In the time that this had started, Dong-Yul had moved from his place on the metal bars closer to Kasuka, now closing what little space they had between the two threats. When Izaya turned his head back, he almost went pale from how close Nakura had gotten in just a few seconds. "What's with that face? Are you finally scared, Orihara-san?" Nakura mocked him. There was barely a pause before he had that damn smirk back on his face. Izaya was about to reach into his pocket for something before he bit his lip, remembering that he hadn't brought a knife that easily accessible because of the letter's terms.

The two squared each other off for a second as Nakura just waited, probably for Dong-Yul to get ever closer to them. "Ya know Ko- Izaya-kun, I still wouldn't mind that date. I mean, just cause you're a guy doesn't make you any less cute.. You'd just have to do everything I say this time, so nothing happens~" Dong-Yul chimed behind him, making the informant scowl at the very idea.  _Yeah, nice charm there, ignoramus.._

"Sorry to break it to ya, but this doesn't change anything. Even if I wasn't with Kasuka, I wouldn't date you in a million years." Izaya announced, worried about the consequences but not being able to give up his own liberties to someone like this. But, of course, this didn't get a very pleasant response.

"Fine then!" the Korean shouted, then he saw Nakura lunging at Kasuka beside him, making him push his boyfriend away before dodging back as well. It took him a second to realize Kasuka had moved to push him away as well, the same reaction probably happening on both ends of this little square. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dong-Yul turn on a dime, changing from facing Izaya to going after Kasuka and just catching his ankle enough to trip him, then trap him.  _Fuck!_

Izaya watched in horror as Nakura got closer to them, neither of them now paying attention to him. "So, Orihara-san.. Would it hurt you more to torture you, or just end  _this one_  right here?" Nakura asked, a dark tone to his words as he looked over where he was crouched. Dong-Yul was looking very pleased with himself as well for pinning Kasuka's arms behind him, but both Dong-Yul and Izaya's faces went pale at the sight of a gun being pulled out from behind Nakura's back.

"The fuck.. You said you were going to kick his ass, not kill him!" Dong-Yul protested, his grip on Kasuka's arms loosening as he watched his accomplice with wide eyes. Nakura just glanced at him and held poison in his gaze, the expression obviously meant to make Dong-Yul look like the idiot here.

"Plans change, kid." the deviant announced, raising the gun to point at Kasuka's head before taking off the safety. Izaya bolted from where he was, temporarily distracting the armed thug while Dong-Yul suddenly tried to pull Kasuka away from him, the sound of wrenching metal in the background. Izaya tried to stop his own momentum as he saw something out of the corner of his vision again, whatever it was not registering to him as he watched Nakura change his aim at Izaya, pulling the trigger.


	54. Excuse you, Author?

_[Kasuka's POV]_

During the time Izaya had been interrogating Nakura, Kasuka was trying to pinpoint just what it was that Dong-Yul was thinking. The bastard had looked so smug it was sickening, and he just kept switching his gaze between them with a smile.  _What are you waiting for?_  Kasuka thought to himself, finally seeing the man step forward.

The small steps continued as Nakura relieved that he was a 'helper' to Dong-Yul getting some kind of revenge, which wasn't far fetched, seeing as he looked pretty fulfilled at the moment. But that still didn't give him enough of a warning when Dong-Yul finally had gotten close enough and lunged at Izaya, making Kasuka try to push his boyfriend away and towards safety.

He also didn't account for the tech manager to turn so quickly and changing his aim, now knocking Kasuka over with ease before pulling his arms back behind him, an easy task as Kasuka tried to regain all the air he'd lost from Dong-Yul dropping a knee on his spine. The pain had shot through him enough to stun him while he was pulled up into a sitting position, now crouched where he was as he focused again - the first thing that came to his sight was a gun to his head.

His blood ran cold for a second and he barely heard footsteps running towards him as he focused on the gun. But his attention was ripped away when he saw the door that they had come through being ripped off of it's hinges with ease. Dong-Yul seemed to have noticed too, returning the painful grip on his arms but this time pulling him backwards instead of into submission. Kasuka pushed himself back and with the others help, they were a good foot away already when the door was flying through the air, smacking into Nakura's side and forcing a large snap to run through the air, the man's arm bending in a way it wasn't meant to and the gunshot that had then been aimed at Izaya missed it's target by a mile.

The three of them watched in stunned silence as the door practically ripped Nakura from his spot and sent him flying into the railing of the building, being easily pinned there as Dong-Yul released Kasuka's arms and backed away from him.

"I-I didn't know he had a gun, I swear! H-He said he couldn't, d-didn't own one!" the tech manager tried to explain, just getting an uninterested glare in return from the ravenett on the floor before the actor stood up and looked over to his brother, giving him a relieved smile.

"Thanks aniki, you saved us." Kasuka called to him, moving to run over to his boyfriend's side while Shizuo began walking towards Dong-Yul, probably to restrain him just in case he changed his mind about acting oblivious to this. Before either of them could get to their target though, there was another gunshot and a grunt of pain from behind him. Izaya's eyes grew wide, looking passed him, and Kasuka turned to see what had happened, knowing Nakura's own gun had spun away from him clear over to the other side of the rooftop when he'd gotten hit - but he saw someone standing where Shizuo had once been in the stairwell, gun in hand.

It was Shara, still alive and well.

"What the.." Kasuka got out before he moved his gaze again to where she had aimed, noticing Shizuo was now clutching his side in pain with a very pissed look in his eyes.

"If he's dead, you better get ready to join him, bastard!" Shara hissed, moving from her position and keeping the gun pointed at the blond man while she made her way over to the door that now trapped an unconscious and broken Nakura against steel rods. Kasuka just watched the whole thing in stunned silence, along with his boyfriend.

"Shara.. We thought you were dead." Izaya mumbled from where he was, standing beside Kasuka in confusion after walking over to him. The girl just scowled and continued trying to move the door from the injured man.

"I faked it, dumbass. I just wanted to start over, no ties or left over responsibilities once I was gone. Guess no one missed me, since everything just continued on like I never happened…" the former-assistant hissed.

"Guess this is why all the details of what happened were so vague.. But why the fuck are you here? Izaya never did anything to you!" Kasuka protested, mind trying to work out everything that was happening before Shizuo tried to take a step towards her, getting a gun aimed at him once more as he grunted in discomfort. The actor noticed and slowly began making his way over to Shizuo with his boyfriend in tow, trying to see if the blond was alright without making Shara pull the trigger.

"Wrong. Izaya is the one that got my mom kidnapped and my dad killed because they were part of some stupid gang.. I'm here because Nakura promised I could move far away with him once this is over. He can't go back to America, and we couldn't stay here if he killed someone, especially someone famous." Shara announced. Dong-Yul finally spoke up from where he was, way at the back near the door as he watched on, still in almost silent horror from what he could have helped commit.

"So you knew about the gun this whole time!? You didn't tell me!?" the Korean shouted, his gaze moving from shocked to pissed in a couple seconds. "I could have been an accessory to murder and you would just let him get away with it!?"

"Yes, dumbass! We knew you'd never act as delivery boy if we told you what he was going to do to 'Yuuhei', your precious rival." Shara dismissed, finally managing to turn the door over and let it thud on it's side, taking pressure off of Nakura and letting blood run out from his broken and open-wounded arm. "And they're both my guns, so technically when you asked him, he wasn't lying."

Kasuka just shook his head, making sense of the situation slowly. "So, how fucking long has this guy been watching us after all? You 'died' a while ago, so what was with making us wait?" he asked, wondering just how violated he should feel in this situation. The actor was currently trying to apply pressure to his brother's wound as well, despite the blond's quiet protests and intense focus on the one with a weapon. The younger brother had no doubt that if Shara tried to shoot him, he'd take a second bullet without thinking.

"Hm.. At least a month. In case you didn't know, as smart as he is, these things take time and planning. And a lot of favor asking." Shara hummed, trying to put pressure on Nakura's wounds as well. Her words made sense, but it didn't make him feel any better.

"You're insane… Fuck, I'm insane.." Dong-Yul muttered, being further away from them now as he backed away from the action. Kasuka and Izaya glanced at each other before the informant looked back at the tech manager.

"Hey Ki? If you go get my friends downstairs, I'd be willing to forget your part in this ever existed." Izaya announced, watching Dong-Yul's face fill with surprise before he let out a slow nod, the two of them going back to watching their captor intently.

Shara trained her gun on him and took a warning shot, making him jump further from the door than anticipated. "Try it and you get a bullet to the head, along with your little crush." she threatened, making Kasuka and Dong-Yul both pale.

"Sh-Shara, you don't need to do this ya know? I'm sure if we just let them go and get you and Nakura to Canada or somewhere like that, everything will still be fine.. I won't tell anyone at work that you're alive, won't talk to the police. Izaya and Kasuka won't either, right?" Dong-Yul tried to reason, casting a desperate glance at the three men on his side. Kasuka just gave him a glare once before thinking it over.

_If it'll get everyone out just fine, then I guess I have to agree._  The actor thought to himself, almost wishing this wasn't his only option.

"He's right. Just let us go and we'll get Nakura to a doctor too. There's one waiting for us downstairs right now." Kasuka added, glancing at Izaya before the informant backed down slightly, getting out of his defensive position and not saying anything, the closest he would probably get to agreement.

Shizuo was silent for this whole thing but when Shara glared at him, waiting for a confirmation on his end as well, he straightened up a bit despite his injury. "I'll even carry him to get treatment." the blond submitted, glaring harshly behind his shades and scowling, but none the less being a part of the 'surrender'.

The girl looked between them for a long moment, trying to make a judgement before she finally backed away from Nakura.

Shizuo walked over to the unconscious man, who he was probably wishing he'd hit harder, before scooping him up with slightly pained ease and began walking towards the staircase. Kasuka only stopped him once, getting a gun pointed at him again in the progress, to take off his own jacket and wrap it around his brother's waist, covering the bullet wound. "If they see him with blood and you with a gun, there's no way they won't call the cops on you. Put the damn thing away before we aren't even able to keep up our end of the deal." Kasuka muttered in irritation, glaring back at Shara before she nodded and gestured for all of them to head down ahead of her, keeping the gun concealed on their way to the elevator and heading out of the building with them in silence. Kasuka was just glad that none of them needed to worry about being literally stabbed in the back on their way down to the bottom floor and the doctor's apartment.  _Please still be waiting for us, Shinra._


	55. Shinra... Oh Lord

_[Izaya's POV]_

_Of course. Everything's my fault, it's **always**  my fault. I can never get a break, can I? It's not like I asked to be an informant, I asked to be let go the first chance I got and now look where Shiki has gotten me. With a gun to my fuckin' head by a person I don't even care about and even fucking SPARED for some reason, all because he wanted me to work on a case of miscreants that were encroaching just a bit too close on his lovely, little shithole of a home. WONDERFUL!_

Izaya kept on with these thoughts all the way down the elevator, trying his best to not reach down and grab the knife that was strapped to his leg so he could stab the unconscious bastard a couple feet away from him. It was all too tempting.

_I have to give him props though, he did go all the way to a different country because of what I did and used their resources to educate himself as needed. Not everyone that was so dumb at the start could improve themselves like that._ Izaya spared a glance at Shara through the mirrored wall.  _I just wish he had used it for a better purpose than spying on me and my boyfriend and corrupting everyone around me. That used to be my job, now will people stop fucking surpassing me? This isn't even fair…_

The informant kept his head down with a scowl as they got off the elevator and hurried out of the building, not wanting to be stopped by someone who noticed the blood on Nakura's clothes or the growing patch of it on Shizuo's vest either. That wouldn't be good for them at the moment.

The group continued on until they got into the cover of the park, where there would be less common-folk to notice the same thing, and Kasuka quickly sent a text of where they were so Shinra and Celty could come find them. The headless rider and doctor showed up soon, Shinra with wide eyes as he stepped off of Celty's motorcycle and looked them over, noticing the gun that was no longer concealed and once again pointed at them.

"Are you the doctor they talked about?" Shara asked behind them, getting a nod in response.  _He's wearing a fucking lab-coat, how could he not be the doctor?_  "Good. They promised you'd fix him, so get him whatever he needs and quick." the girl ordered, just making Izaya want to scowl more.  _What happened to the innocent little annoyance that did my hair and got me sandwiches? If I knew this was going to happen, I would have tried to get her to off herself whether I was in the mood or not._

But Shinra didn't scowl, just doing as he was told without hesitation. It didn't happen often, but Shinra did have some sense in him when it came to things like this. He went forward and checked the man's pulse, then his broken arm and the bang on his head from where it hit the bars earlier. "He'll need to be taken to my office, I can't just fix this without equipment.. Celty dear, would you mind taking him back home and getting him on a bed while we make our way there?" Shinra asked calmly, looking back at his headless companion who gave him a nod. Izaya glanced back at Shara, seeing her with a small look of intrigue as she studied the rider, but her gun was still pointed at them, too close to not be of harm to them if one of them attempted to disarm her. He'd have to be patient for another while.

Celty did as she was asked and Nakura was placed onto the back of her bike, the rider securing him with her tendrils before riding off and leaving them with their captor again, plus the doctor.

"Alright, let's go then.. I'll lead the way." Shinra muttered after a tense moment of silence. He began his way through the park again, seeing as his apartment was located on the other side and they all followed, Shara hiding her gun when the occasional passer-by became present. There weren't a whole lot at this time of night and it was obvious that that was the point, but he could tell everyone was wishing it was more around noon instead of midnight, so they could have a larger sense of security at all times.

They finally made it out into the open and Shara put her gun away fully, swapping it for what looked like a steak knife that she hid mostly within her jacket sleeve so no one would notice as she kept it handy. They all exchanged a look after noticing and kept quiet, just following closely behind Shinra and trying to push ahead of Shara as much as possible in the process.

It took the small gang almost half an hour to travel to Shinra's apartment together and for every single person it felt too long, all of them hunched over just a bit more than they had been at the beginning of the journey and all of them trying to sneak glances at Shara as well, avoiding her piercing eyes as they seemed to be able to catch every one of their movements. They got into the building and huddled together in the elevator, this one, sadly, being smaller than the previous one, and just as quickly trying to shuffle out of it to get away from her again.

The moment they were inside the apartment and allowed to sit on the couches, actually instructed to by Shara, except for Shinra of course, they all took a deep breath. They weren't out of danger of course, but they could keep just as close an eye on her as she was doing to them this way.

Shinra hurried off to check on Celty and their 'patient' leaving them without a person to be leverage in the situation. Izaya's ruby eyes traveled over to Kasuka's trying to have one of their semi-mental conversations so they could both calm down, but it didn't work. Both of them just kept looking more and more worried as the moments once again dragged on. Dong-Yul was avoiding everyone's gaze and Shizuo was quiet as well, moving when permitted by Shara to get his own wound treated at Shinra's request.

There was total silence around them until suddenly there was a loud, constant sound that seemed to disturb Shara. What had been a persistent and interval-heard noise, beeping of a heart monitor, had turned into the one that every TV drama would make just too long and too annoying for it's own good, though this time it was real. Shara had jumped when the noise suddenly changed and even turned to go down the hallway, but instead stayed put with both her knife and gun out, worry on her face as she shouted to Shinra, asking what had happened.

Shinra hadn't yelled back, obviously busy with whatever it was he was doing down the hall, but the constant sound made Izaya perk up. The wounds that he'd received hadn't been bad enough to die from, at least not to Izaya's knowledge, and he knew that Shinra had fixed people with a lot worse, them coming out fully healed and ready to go. Which meant... Shinra had helped them instead. He'd let Nakura die.


	56. Sweet and Sour

_ [Izaya's POV] _

_He let him die.._ Izaya thought to himself again, not sure how to feel for a moment before he shared a look with Shizuo, who looked sick. Kasuka looked almost white as a sheet, eyes wide as he looked down the hallway as well, trying to see what was going on but being blocked by a door. Shara was still demanding answers where she stood, back to them but casting frequent glances behind her to make sure they were still in their places.

"Fuck.. Fuck!" she finally relented, casting one last glare at the group on the couches before running down the hallway and bursting through the door to where Nakura was laying. "What the fuck is going on!? Why haven't you-?" Shara's voice was cut off and there was a loud thud before it was quiet in the other room.

Everyone was silent, waiting, and all of them were staring at Kasuka, who was the only one sat in a chair such a way that he could see down the hall better than any of them could. He was silent too though, just watching the doorway as the rest of them began to hear footsteps. The constant beep had stopped as well, apparently one of them taking Nakura off the machine or just turning it off completely.

Shinra stepped out into the living room, his eyes not full of shame but not meeting anyone else's either. The doctor finally spoke up after a moment. "Nakura's dead. Shara is currently unconscious.. I wanted to consult you all before making a decision." he announced, clearing his throat before looking up to meet Izaya's eyes. The informant just worried his lip for a second as he thought, knowing the easy answer would be to get rid of her as well. It would be so much easier now too, she was already supposed to be dead so if they killed her then no one would go looking and they would definetly be in the clear.

But ruby eyes traveled over to his boyfriend, who still had a deep look of concern on his face as he supposedly watched Nakura where he lay and an unconscious captor, if Celty hadn't moved her yet. The informant frowned before standing to go over to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. "You alright?" Izaya muttered, not used to showing his caring in front of others but also not knowing if he should try to actually move him for this conversation as well. Everyone else respectively didn't watch them, Shinra drawing closer to Dong-Yul, who was still shocked into silence with his hands covering his face so no one could read his expression, while Shizuo looked like he was going to puke soon.

Kasuka finally turned away from where he'd been watching to see his boyfriend. "He's dead.." was all he replied with, obviously still in shock. Izaya furrowed his brow for a second, trying to feel the compassion his boyfriend probably did but just wasn't able to do it.  _He tried to kill us, you and then me, but you look like Shinra just murdered an angel.._  Izaya tried to also jam it into his head that Kasuka wasn't familiar with dead.

Of course the actor wouldn't be; the closest he'd been to it was during his drama shows and maybe a murder-oriented film, nothing real. Nothing like this.

Izaya was, of course, the opposite. He could think about death on a daily basis, he used to as a matter of fact, but that didn't mean he entirely enjoyed it anymore. He was just so used to it, so desensitized.. He didn't think of the man in the other room as a person to begin with, he was on a small sliver of the population that he liked to think Shizuo was on, the sliver that held monstrosities. He'd been put there the moment he held a knife to Shinra, much before even this incident, which was why he had just done what he deemed sensible this entire time to get rid of him. Not done what he could to think that the man in the other room once had a life, one in shambles but a life, which was now gone with no way of returning.

But of course Kasuka did. He viewed people as people, just like he viewed his brother as a normal, well-meaning human being instead of a monster or even a fracture in common humanity. He hadn't been beaten down into thinking that death is just a part of life, whether natural or not. And despite the current circumstances, Izaya wished that he never would be.

The informant leaned down to wrap his arms around Kasuka's shoulders, holding him tightly as his boyfriend got his senses to him. "Yes, he's dead... It he wasn't, he was going to come back and do much worse to us than what started all this." Izaya muttered, trying to make him see the reason instead of the cause. If anyone was going to be yelled at for this, he didn't want it to be Shinra. The doctor had just done what he thought was right at the time and he didn't want him to lose a companion over it right now.

The ravenett just dropped his head at that though, head in his hands as Izaya released his shoulders and just lightly patted his back, trying to think of something to make him feel better. Anything to take his mind off of what was in the other room and what could happen in it soon, as well.

He didn't need to though, for Kasuka sat up a bit a moment later, still staring at the floor. "I want to go home.." was all he said, moving to stand and walk to the door, only pausing there to wait for someone to come with him. Shizuo and Izaya shared a look before the ravenett moved to follow his boyfriend to the door, passing Shinra with a small mutter. "You know my opinion on this. Just let me know what you all decide." he whispered before moving on, ignoring the distraught Dong-Yul in a seat beside the blond.

Izaya grabbed Kasuka's hand and held it tightly in his own as they began the journey to the informant's apartment.


	57. Mourn The Evil

_ [Izaya's POV] _

_Just say something already..._  Izaya silently pleaded, casting another glance back at his boyfriend.

They were still on their way to the informant's apartment, since it was closer, and it had been silent the entire journey, the silence that he wasn't used to and didn't like receiving from the other ravenett. It was the silence that meant there was nothing left to say, and while it wasn't specifically directed at him, that he knew of, it was still suffocating.

But despite wanting to it to end, he couldn't think of anything to break it. He couldn't ask Kasuka if he was hungry, because it was very obvious that the answer was no. He couldn't ask him if he wanted to see a movie because God forbid if that movie held death in it, whether as a big or small part, just to trigger Kasuka into thinking or saying or doing something. He couldn't even think of asking if he wanted to visit anyone, since Shizuo was back at Shinra's apartment and he definetly wouldn't be wanting to see either of them at the moment.

So, they continued on in silence until the two got to Izaya's door, the informant opening it and letting him walk in before locking it behind them. After that the ravenett just watched Kasuka, wanting to see what he would do when left alone.

It wasn't surprising to him when Kasuka started up the stairs, heading towards Izaya's room.  _He did look pretty tired on the way here..._

Izaya frowned to himself for a second as he glanced around, not knowing what to occupy himself with. He really wanted to go up there and lay at Kasuka's side, just in case he wanted to talk, but he probably wouldn't and he didn't think he'd be able to stand that damn silence from him a minute longer.

So, he just walked around his living room, tidying things up again and glancing up the stairs every so often to see if he would be coming back down. The entire apartment was spotless in much less time than he wanted it to be and he let out a small sigh, nails scratching at his wrist again as he wondered if he should really go up and see his boyfriend.

_It's worth a try..._

So, the informant went up and to his room, noticing that the door was just cracked open enough for him to see inside. He peaked in to see Kasuka under the blankets, covered head to toe in them, but he couldn't tell if the man was asleep or not.  _Maybe I should just leave him alone... No, I'm his boyfriend, I can do this. If simple humans can comfort each other then I can comfort Kasuka._

The man walked in further and hesitated just a moment before taking off his shoes and climbing in under the blankets beside him, noticing that his back was to him and that he didn't stir. The informant just crept a bit closer when his boyfriend didn't move, shifting until he was pressed right against Kasuka's back, listening to his breathing and deciding that he definetly wasn't asleep. It was confirmed when he let out what the man took to be a sigh, something sleeping people didn't do.

_I know you don't like this, but you're still breathing, even if he isn't. Why can't you be happy about that?_  Izaya silently asked him, moving to wrap one arm around Kasuka's waist from where he was, trying to warm him up when he felt the other shiver.

Izaya expected for him to continue ignoring the embrace until he fell asleep but then the body shifted and Kasuka's was holding the informant's hand against his chest. his grip having no power in it. "Izaya?" Kasuka muttered, surprising him further and making him perk up where he laid.

"Yes?"

"... They're going to kill her, aren't they?"

The informant was silent for a moment before moving his grip to hold Kasuka's hand instead, pressing against him more tightly as well to show that he was there for him. "Yes.. They probably are.." he answered, waiting patiently for the other to react. There wasn't any movement from him after that, and he didn't respond again, making Izaya silent in return as he just kept holding the other, forehead pressed against his back.

Finally, after almost an hour of silence, the other spoke up again. "Izaya?"

The informant opened his eyes, having been half asleep by the time his boyfriend continued. He cleared his throat. "Yes?"

"... Remind me to thank Shinra the next time we see him.. I'm probably going to yell at him on accident." Kasuka muttered to him, the bed shifting as he got out of Izaya's grasp enough to turn around, wrapping the informant in his arms and keeping him close again as Izaya curled up where he was, nuzzling his head into the space of Kasuka's shoulder.

"I will.. Do you want to miss work together tomorrow?" Izaya whispered to him, feeling all the tension from today's events melting away from him and leaving him exhausted in Kasuka's arms. He didn't hear the other respond to that but he felt him nod, giving him his answer. "Then we'll stay here tomorrow. Sleep as long as you want." the informant invited, getting another nod of agreement before they both drifted into sleep at nearly 2 in the morning.


	58. Bring Back Our Life

_[Izaya's POV]_

The informant breathed a sigh of relief as he once again laid in bed with his boyfriend, curled up into his side after a slow day of adjusting back to normal life. Now that everyone who had been watching them, threatening them and downright irritating them had been caught, they took full advantage of their ability to be with each other again.

Of course this meant not going out on the town together or leaving to have a date, but just staying inside and watching Netflix together was enough. It was much more than enough, actually, seeing as by the end of the day Kasuka was once again smiling.

The smiles weren't as big and strong as normal, but it was a start and just that made Izaya sure that things would be better. He really liked his boyfriend's smile and seeing it disappear like that, replaced by stress and confusion and tension, was not something he wanted to see again soon.

So, they had begun their day with Izaya making his boyfriend breakfast, for once not being pestered to help by the other ravenett, and eating together before settling on the couch and trying to decide what to watch. It was an easy choice for them to pick a comedy, one they'd already seen twice but still enjoyed fully, and start it before Kasuka suddenly remembered that they had popcorn and went to go get some.

It was nice for things to be normal again. No feeling of eyes on them. No one leaving letters at their door. No one to tell them that this was wrong and tell them that this, what they had, shouldn't exist.

It was still hard for Izaya to believe he had gotten lucky enough for someone like Kasuka to love him and find him attractive in the first place, so that notion was just oh-so-sweet to be rid of.

After that they had wondered what to do and had decided to head over to Kasuka's place instead, walking their together instead of calling Toren so they could get some fresh air, and finally ended up with Kasuka teaching Izaya how to play Legend of Zelda on his Wii; which led to Izaya knocking quite a few empty soda cans onto the floor and them laughing together like idiots because he actually had to wave it like a sword to fight anything.

That also let them learn that Izaya really enjoyed LoZ, him prompting his boyfriend if he had any other games of the franchise when they got tired of trying to get passed a certain boss that was a bitch to avoid.

He didn't, but Kasuka had promised him that he'd pick another one for them to play when he got the chance.

The two had went back to curling up together after that, missing how they would just cuddle with the TV on in the background the most while they thought about work or life or their friends. The two spent most of their time talking about trivialities this time though, since neither wanted to focus on their friends and co-worker that could have acted on their reason once again, leaving another body to be disposed of. Their conversation had went all the way from what they wanted for dinner to whether or not they could get a pet together in the future; their decision on that had been a "maybe"; and finally it stopped on if they could go on another 'vacation' together, like the one for the festival.

"Of course we can. Just name the place and we can go." Kasuka had invited him. Izaya shook his head.

"No, you were so good at planning things! Have you seen anywhere else you wanna go?"

"No, no, no. You have to pick  _because_ I picked last time. Just think about it." And with a pout Izaya finally did, though he came up blank on an actual place that he would want to visit. Almost everywhere he had an interest in would require a plane-ride to reach and he wasn't sure if he was ready to face that phobia again. He could still feel the turbulence…

"We'll think of something, don't worry." Kasuka finally said, giving him a kiss on the forehead before they moved on.

Despite not doing much physical activity that day, the two were unbelievably tired, even if neither of them wanted to sleep quite yet. It was only 7 pm, after all..

"Why don't we do that yoga thingy together?" Izaya asked, getting a look of surprise from his boyfriend before the other ravenett agreed, smiling a bit wider than he had all day.

The two settled down in the living room to get started, Kasuka doing poses while Izaya tried to copy him; which didn't work very well. Eventually, after Izaya fell out of about 6 positions, Kasuka stopped letting him do it on his own and paused his own stances so he could adjust Izaya into the correct place, trying to hold him there as well when it got particularly difficult.

"Kasu-kun, my arms are hurting!" the ruby-eyed informant complained, glancing at his boyfriend and seeing him almost upside down from his stance. Even upside down he could tell the actor was smiling, almost smirking.

"You're doing just fine, you can keep this up!" Kasuka prompted, trying to make him stay still for just two more minutes. When Izaya whined again he almost laughed. "Who would have thought the great Izaya Orihara would be crying over a little yoga~"

"Shut up! I'm just not used to using my arms like this! I use speed, not brute strength like a certain protozoan we know.." the informant protested, finally tumbling out of his position and onto his back as Kasuka let him relax, Izaya even panting as he righted himself.

"How the hell do you do this for fun..?"

"Practice~"

After that they went back up to Izaya's room to take a shower, both of them sharing a look before deciding to keep everything peaceful for now and shower separately. Neither of them would be much in the mood anyways.

They were both out soon and laying on the bed together, Kasuka with his arms pulling Izaya in close and the informant trying to pull him even closer by entangling their legs, an arm wrapped around his boyfriend's torso tightly as well. Everything was silent for a little while before Izaya spoke up, blushing lightly. "I missed this… A lot more than I ever want to again." the informant admitted, getting a chuckle out of the other and another kiss to the forehead.

"I missed this too. And don't worry, we'll never have to be apart like that again, I promise.." Kasuka murmured, burying his face in the ruby-eyed man's hair, both of them relaxing for another moment before they closed their eyes.

_I really hope you're right, Kasu-kun. I love you._


	59. Wrap It Up

_[Kasuka's POV]_

The actor gripped his boyfriend's hand during the ride to work, eyes cast to the ceiling of the vehicle as he got ready to face the day. The one he was worried about facing the most was Dong-Yul. If the man wasn't there then there was a good chance that he wouldn't be coming back at all, hopefully not popping up again like Shara did, but if he was there then he was almost certain that there would be a threat or confrontation.

Of course, he tried not to worry about that outcome too much. It was pretty obvious that Dong-Yul hadn't been the pure evil in the situation, from what he'd gathered all Dong-Yul had really done was send them the letters to scare them and just wanted to see them hurt, nothing actually serious. Nothing unforgivable.

_I still can't forgive him for putting us in that danger though. Without his help, it probably would have taken Nakura longer to go through with his plan and there would have been less for him to manage on his own as well, probably just a kidnapping instead of a murder._

Kasuka was pulled out of these thoughts by the tug on his hand, letting him know the informant beside him was worried for him. He must have been frowning again.

"If anything happens, we can call Shinnosu or your brother; whoever's closer. They'll help us." Izaya reassured, making the actor nod and give him a thankful smile before he pulled the informant close. He wanted to pull him all the way into his lap but they were almost to work and people guessed that they were a couple already. No need to fuel the fire. They'd already had enough excitement..

The two finally pulled up to the set and separated themselves, Toren helping them out of the limo before they went off to their own dressing rooms, checking what they had to do.

Since they had skipped work yesterday there was quite a lot, another couple fittings for clothes, two episodes that they had to try and shoot in as little time as possible - which just meant that they would be using a teleprompter more than usual, which both of them hated.. But besides that it was just business as usual, remember lines, decide how you're going to move and try shooting it all. Simple.

The actor glanced outside of his workplace again, scanning the area to see if Dong-Yul was at work or not. So far he hadn't see the man but- There was was!

Kasuka watched the other for a second, praying that he didn't try to come over to his own or Izaya's work space but he noticed that the man didn't seem too interested in straying from his own room of cameras. He looked to be running on auto-pilot at the moment, just checking cameras and setting them down again, not even smiling like he normally was. And even when he had been plotting against the two of them, he had never stopped smiling.

_This could be very good or very bad…_

Kasuka kept worrying himself for a moment before going back to his couch and trying to focus on his lines. He had enough work to do without thinking of vengeful tech managers and the death of evil others.  _Just focus.._

Almost as soon as he did focus, twenty minutes of attempting later, there was a knock on his door.  _Please be Izaya._ he thought to himself as he answered the door, his neutral expression getting a little more tense as it did turn out to be Dong-Yul.

"They want you on stage already." was all the Korean announced, face blank and hands in his pockets as he was about to move on, obviously not in the mood for talking. Kasuka, however, decided that he wanted a talk. He opened the door further and took Dong-Yul by the sleeve, dragging him back in the room before shutting his door. Dong-Yul stumbled in further from the sudden movement, eyes now wide as he backed away from Kasuka.

"L-Look, I already apologized for the other night! I know you probably can't forgive me, but it's over you don't have to-"

"I'm not going to kick your ass. I just want to know what ended up happening to Shara. We never got a call about her." Kasuka demanded swiftly, not wanting to hear more apologies. They were genuine, the actor had always been very good at judging that, but he still didn't want to hear it from the other man.

Dong-Yul just looked down at the mention of Shara, jaw clenching as he appeared to be sick. "She's, uh.. she's dead now.. For real. That doctor guy and the biker made me.. they told me do it myself to make sure I didn't tell anyone about them and you two.." the Korean admitted slowly, visibly shaking as he kept his eyes averted. Kasuka just watched him, feeling something close to sympathy as he imagined how that must have gone.

For all that he'd done Dong-Yul wasn't a murderer, but he'd been forced to act like an executioner. The actor could practically hear him trying to talk them out of it, begging them to do something about it instead, but neither of them listening.

Shinra had been adamant enough to let Nakura die in the first place, there was no way he'd be backing down just because of an accomplices own morals. Unless, of course, they were Shinra's own accomplices.

Both of the men were silent as a couple moments passed, Dong-Yul still trying to compose himself while Kasuka wondered what to do. The silence was interrupted by another knock on the door, this time by some random intern who was looking for them both. "I'll be out in a moment." Kasuka called out to her, waiting for a moment for her to leave before looking to Dong-Yul again.

Dong-Yul froze perfectly still as Kasuka went closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry you were put through that. It shouldn't have happened… But thank you for making sure this all won't happen again." was all Kasuka said, not sure about anything else at the moment, before he let him go and walked out to continue his work.


	60. No More Worries, Lots of Free Time

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant sighed heavily as he laid out on his couch, already back home for the day because the recent episode had nothing to do with him, focusing on Kasuka's character development. They weren't sure how long it was going to take for them to get everything they needed filmed either, so he was allowed to take his script home and work on it there, which he had planned to do but never got around to once he looked between the script, his laptop and his couch and decided which he was the most interested in.

After the last couple weeks he'd had, he wanted nothing more than to get every moment of extra sleep he could to make up for the hours he spent worrying over his boyfriend while they had been kept apart.

Now, he had nothing to do. He didn't even want to sleep, having slept well last night. It was either start working on Shiki's next assignment for him or just lie around while he waited for Kasuka to get off work. They had planned to have dinner together once his own filming was done as well, so he didn't want to eat something out of boredom either.

_Maybe I should find something else I'm good at. I have work and now I have acting, so why can't I be good at more things?_

Izaya pondered that for a moment, wondering what he could try before standing up and rummaging around his desk before he found some blank printer paper, which he hadn't used since his printer broke a couple years ago and he had neglected to get a new one.  _Who prints things anymore?_

He went back to his coffee table after finding a pencil as well, along with a pen since he didn't know which was better, and settled himself down to try drawing.  _Now what the fuck should I draw…._  he asked himself, actually beginning to think this was a bad idea when he couldn't even decide where to start and he finally decided on just drawing something simple, his laptop.  _It's a bunch of squares, it can't be too hard._

And so he set himself on his little mission of drawing his laptop, zoning out enough that he didn't hear his phone buzz with a text message, and leaned back to look at what he'd done when he felt finished.

_It looks… like shit._

Izaya scowled and scribbled over it a little before moving down the page and deciding to try again, this time with the pen instead so he could use his pencil like a ruler.  _Almost done…. There._  He thought to himself, leaning back to look again.  _Ehhh… Keyboards are supposed to be straight, aren't they... Screw it._

Izaya inevitably crumpled up the paper he'd been using and grabbed another one, thinking of what to draw next.  _Maybe I'm just better at drawing things that aren't perfect lines._  And so he started to try drawing a flower; this one actually turned out good, however, he couldn't get over the fact that it looked like something his sisters had drawn back in kindergarten the exact same way.  _Redo…_

And he kept trying.

_Fuck.._

And trying.

_Fuck!_

And trying, again.

_**Fuuuck!** _

Until he finally gave up.

"Why can't it do what I want it too!?" he sighed loudly, letting his forehead hit the table in front of him as he grimaced at the tiny field of flowers on paper he had come up with. None of them were impressive but none of them were too awful either, especially the ones near the end. "This is too hard.." the informant hissed, crumpling up his paper yet again and throwing it onto his desk a couple feet away.

"I should be doing work, how the hell did I end up with this?" he grumbled to himself, standing up and going over to his desk, completely abandoning his forgotten art supplies where they were as he opened his laptop and logged in, checking a long list of chatrooms he could intrude before actually gathering some information, nearly jumping out of his seat when his phone started buzzing loudly in his pocket.

"What now?" he mumbled, taking it out of his pocket and checking it, thinking someone was calling him but finding out it was really just Shinra sending a multitude of texts, all the same text, over and over again to grab his attention.

**[You're plan worked, now what do you want?]**  he sent, hoping to stop the wave of messages from continuing to interrupt him while typing.

**[Hello! I was just wondering if you wanted to come over to me and Celty's place for dinner tonight. We haven't had a normal conversation in ages.]**

**[True. I'll ask Kasuka, we kinda already had plans.]**

**[Perfect! It can be like a double date~]**

**[I'll let Celty know to jab you for that when we get there.]**  Izaya paused.  **[If we even show up.]**  he clarified.

**[Right! See you then.]**

Izaya just let out a small sigh as he leaned back in his chair, looking at the uninteresting chatroom in front of him. No one was talking about anything useful, just about some manga that had recently come out and another currently on sale. He leaned forward to dismiss himself.  _ **[Kanra: Bye guys! Mom said I have chores to do.]**_

The informant sighed as he leaned back again, already bored out of his mind.

With nothing extreme going on, nothing to distract his mind, he was once again easily distracted and quickly bored, making his eyes wander.  _This isn't any fun.. I wonder if Kasuka would mind if I go over to his house and play Zelda while he's at work._

The informant bit the inside of his cheek once as he scanned through the list of chatrooms again, quickly looking through and seeing that most were completely dead, then exited out of his computer again and shut it.  _He did give me a key, it should be fine._  And with that, he grabbed what he needed before walking out again, hoping Kasuka could join him soon.


	61. Iza-chan!

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

_Finally, I can get out of here.._  the actor grumbled in his head, almost rushing himself out of the workplace as he was let off for the day. Kasuka took a deep breath once he was on his way home, checking his phone to see that he had gotten a text from Izaya almost two hours ago saying that he was there to wait for him.  _I don't think he's ever been there completely alone before.. I hope he feels comfortable._

Sure, they had been together for over two months -  _has it been three months already? I've been losing track.. Yeah, a little over three months now._  - three months, but they still hadn't gotten to that level of comfort where they could easily move in with each other or do anything close. What they had, not emotionally but boundary-wise, was more like when you have a best friend and want nothing more than to hang out with them at every given opportunity, setting up plans and having almost constant sleep overs with one another. And like most sleep overs, there was still that barrier of respect that made you more subdued in the other's home, even with their permission to be otherwise lawless.

_It's not like I can say anything though, I'm the same way in his house. We'll get over it eventually._  Kasuka concluded, smiling lightly to himself as he got closer to home.

"You have that smile again. Is someone waiting there for you?" Toren asked from the front seat, making Kasuka blush from being caught. "A certain ruby-eyed man, perhaps?" the driver added, a smirk on his face. Yes, Toren knew about 'Kobayashi-sans' secret, at least the most basic one of gender, but it would have been hard to hide from him in the first place. He drove them every where and kept them mostly away from the paparazzi whenever he could himself, so the least they could do was let him in on the secret. Besides, Toren was more like family to him than most, besides Shizuo who was his number one, so he felt bad in the first place for hiding it. The chaperon had no problems accepting them as a gay couple either, which was a big relief.

"That's a yes. You look like a cherry again." the man laughed, causing Kasuka to throw a pen at him from the back seat through the little window that separated them. It harmlessly hit the screen of the radio instead of his driver like he'd planned and they both laughed it off, finishing up the drive before Kasuka was dropped off to see his lover. He made it up to his apartment and unlocked the door, not surprised that Izaya had locked it again once inside, and looking around to find him sitting in the center of the couch, curled up where he was instead of sprawled out over it like when they had played together before, and smiled lightly to himself.  _I knew it._

"Hello, darling~" Kasuka greeted cheerfully, over-exaggerating the nickname with much too much honey in it like he'd seen on some American program that he'd checked out while over seas once. All he got in return was a pout and glare from the name, but Kasuka gave his boyfriend a kiss hello anyway.

"How was the shoot?" Izaya asked, scooting over from where he was as Kasuka moved around the couch and dropped down next to him, the informant pausing his game as well so he didn't have to be distracted from either at once.

"It was fine. Haru was irritating though. She forgot her lines almost every transition." Kasuka complained, wrapping his arm around Izaya's waist and leaning onto him enough to rest his head on the other man's.

"Well, she is a guest-star. Plus, she's a pop idol, she wasn't trained for any of this. She'll be gone in a couple episodes anyway." the informant listed off, once again trying to make him feel better but having the tone like he should just know this all and have accepted it already. Despite the tone, he still always felt better after Izaya 'consoled' him like this. His boyfriend just wasn't completely used to the emotional part of all this still as well, so it was endearing that he even tried.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks." Kasuka hummed, giving him another kiss before Izaya shifted to let him rest his head on the informant's shoulder, Izaya resting his head on the actor's.

"Shinra called earlier. He said that we should go over to his place for dinner tonight." the informant muttered after a while, having that tone that showed he had forgotten about it first before telling him. The actor couldn't help feeling proud about knowing his lover's quirks already. He knew a lot of men in highschool, none his friends but his classmates, who knew almost nothing intimate about their partners after being together for a whole year - just basic things that got them by when a birthday came around.

"You mean like a double date?" Kasuka suggested with a grin, that grin faltering a bit as he groaned, a new pain in his side forming but harshly enough for him to not be amused.

"You're so much like Shinra, it's sickening." Izaya hissed, making Kasuka look up to check if he was really mad. The blush spread across Izaya's face let him know that he wasn't, so the actor just wrapped his arm around him more tightly and brought him in for a kiss, this one being longer than before much sweeter as he moved the informant into his lap.

"Sorry, we just both know how fun it is to push your buttons~ ..My buttons are not on my sides!" Kasuka suddenly shrieked, fumbling to grab Izaya's hands this time as he made a move to give him another jab, this time on both sides at once, and Kasuka felt like that would be the death of him after just receiving one a moment ago. He hadn't even realized what he had shouted until Izaya was suddenly cracking up, the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen on his lovers face coming out inbetween laughs while he tried to catch his breath and hide his face in Kasuka's shirt.  _Hah, so he does like bad jokes~_

"What are you smiling at?" Kasuka asked in amusement, releasing Izaya's hands as the informant used them to cover his face, still recovering his breath. "I didn't even push your buttons yet!" Kasuka chuckled, this time evilly as he reached for Izaya's sides, and instead of jabbing them he started tickling them, watching as Izaya's face went from amusement to horror, the man jumping out of his lap.

"Kasu-kun, no. You know I don't like-... Kasuka!" Izaya gasped, now making a break for it down the hallway after Kasuka had stood up, hands still at the ready to tickle him despite the warnings. The actor gave chase, having no hopes of catching them with Izaya having so much experience, but he could still have fun trying as he got to his door, now locked like expected.

"Izaya, open the door~"

"No!"

"Izaya~"

"No, no, no!"

"I~za~ya~"

"Fuck no, now go away!"

"It's my house, Iza-chan."

Kasuka stopped himself in surprise at the nickname, wondering where that had come from. He'd never heard anyone call Izaya by it before and he'd never thought of Izaya with a nickname either, but it sounded nice.  _Iza-chan... I like it~_

Obviously he wasn't the only one surprised by it, because the informant behind the door was currently quiet.

"Wh-what was that?" Izaya asked from behind the door, making Kasuka gape before grinning like a mad man.  _He stuttered!_

"What was what, Iza-chan~?"

"That! What is that!?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I-za-chan~" Kasuka mused, drawing out the nickname now as he heard the other get steadily more flustered.

"St-stop calling me that!" Izaya demanded as he opened the door, only getting an actor picking him up and running forward to drop him onto the bed as a response.

"Why? It's adorable~"

"No, it isn't!"

"It suits you, that's why it's adorable!" Kasuka protested, interrupting Izaya's retort with pecks on the lips, cutting him off on every attempt and eventually making the informant give up with an even more adorable glare and blush than before. "Do you accept defeat?" Kasuka asked him, smirking down at him now as they just stared at each other, Kasuka keeping Izaya's wrists captive so he couldn't get an advantage.

"Dumbass Heiwajima.." Izaya muttered, turning his head away from him and receiving an obvious hickey as punishment for the insult. "Kasu-!"

"There. Now Shinra gets to know we had some very fun alone time before heading over to his house~" Kasuka teased, letting go of Izaya and retreating to a safe distance as the informant put together what he'd just done.

"I hate you!"

"I love you too, Iza-chan~"


	62. Dinner For Four

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The two knocked on Shinra's door just a few hours later after Izaya had texted Shinra that they were coming and that he shouldn't use any meat in their meal. He wasn't sure if Shinra already knew about his boyfriend's diet but he didn't want him getting deathly sick, after all. Izaya was still worrying himself over whether or not he had concealed the hickey from earlier properly when the door opened, making him give his old smirk to the man behind the door as Kasuka smiled politely.

Izaya had noticed a while ago on the way there that, despite smiling and laughing again, Kasuka still wasn't over Nakura and Shara's deaths. In the car he had kept going back to that zoned out look he'd had when he first left this apartment, just void of any emotion and making him look slightly lost.  _It hasn't even been a week yet and I'm making him go back but... Maybe this can be a bit like therapy for him. All we're doing is having a meal, not talking about them._

The two walked in behind their host and could already smell the food cooking. Izaya's stomach growled as he recognized the smell of fatty tuna, making his cheeks go a light pink when both Kasuka and Shinra chuckled. "So, how have you two been? And not just recently, in general. I wanna know all about the last few months that Izaya has been sneaking away from us." Shinra asked through the island that connected his kitchen and living room.

The doctor was currently cooking alone, not unexpected seeing as his lover of choice had no taste-buds, so they could only assume their other host would be home soon.

Kasuka and Izaya glanced at each other, wondering where to start before Izaya answered. "Well, everything has been fine. I mean, it obviously didn't suck because now I have a boyfriend." the informant shrugged, getting a grin from Kasuka.

"Same with me, except work has been irritating. But that's to be expected too." Shinra just nodded from where he was, glancing over at them whenever he had the chance. "Hey, where's Celty?" Kasuka added, obviously realizing that the rider wasn't in the apartment with them if it was deathly quiet besides the sounds of them and cooking.

"She's off on an assignment right now and I said she could go if she wanted. She never has had fun watching other people eat." The doctor, glancing at the clock before drawing his attention back. "She should be back before it's time to eat though, she misses talking with Izaya and it wouldn't hurt her to get to know you as well."

"Right. She seems nice." Kasuka answered, not sure where to go from there. Thankfully, Shinra always seemed to be the one furthering conversation.

"So, you two are dating and you have been for how long now?"

"About three months." "Really, three months already?" "Yup, I counted earlier. Crazy..."

"You two are awfully close already for only dating three months." Shinra noted, casting them another glance.

"Well, we met a couple months before that, Shinra. It's not like we saw each other and just said 'hey, lets try this'." Izaya told him, not realizing he had said it so stubbornly before he felt Kasuka hold his hand, obviously to keep him from snapping at the other. And he didn't plan to, of course, Shinra didn't ask anything wrong but after already being threatened about their relationship he would rather keep it doubt free for a while.

"True, true. I am curious as to what he did to make you like him though, you haven't had a relationship since early highschool.. And that relationship didn't even last a week." the doctor carried on, grinning when Izaya just gave a shrug to answer him, obviously embarrassed. Kasuka was looking at him to, wanting an answer to the question, and he looked away from him as his cheeks grew darker.

"It's none of your business Shinra. Stuff happened and I like him now, that's what matters." the informant blew off, getting a squeeze to his hand and for a moment he thought he'd offended his boyfriend. But Kasuka was just shaking his head with a small laugh when Shinra pouted from not hearing what he wanted.

"Well, it's nice to see you so happy. I don't think I've ever seen you genuinely smile this much since we met in middle school. Even then this used to be so rare." Shinra muttered on, almost talking to himself now as the couple scooted closer together, cuddling where they were on the couch as Izaya's stomach growled again during the wait.

"Shinra, what are you making?" Kasuka asked for him, almost eagerly. The informant was sure he heard some kind of growl come from Kasuka too at this point.  _Stupid studio, working us through lunch and keeping him late._

"Shrimp stir-fry." he replied cheerfully, making both of his guests explode in a blush when their stomachs growled in unison. "I take it you were better off not knowing?" They both nodded.

Just when Izaya suspected that he was going to be sick if he didn't get food, Shinra turned off the stove and Celty walked in, greeting them with a wave before grabbing her PDA.  **[Hey guys. Nice to see you again.]** she typed, letting them read it as she took off her helmet and allowed her smoke to spread out a bit. Izaya glanced at his boyfriend to make sure he wasn't staring, since Kasuka had only seen her without a helmet once or twice.

The actor had given her a couple glances, like he had misinterpreted what he'd seen the first time and had to double check, but after that quit looking and just continued the conversation. "Hello, Celty. Glad you could join us too." the ravenett said politely, giving her a small smile that was slightly more reserved than the one given to Shinra.  _You act like your shy, stop that._

Izaya straightened himself up as Celty continued typing again and Shinra started plating their food.  **[Glad I could be here too. It looks like dinner's ready so you wanna go sit at the dining table or just settle here?]**

"The table's fine." Izaya answered, almost running to the table as his stomach growled again. Once they were all settled with a plate, minus Celty, they started chatting again during the meal. Shinra asked them a bunch of things like how many dates they'd been on and relationship things like that while Celty kept jabbing him in the side, not too hard since he was eating, and adding more questions that were a bit more commonplace; like how was work going for both of them, how much of a dick has Shiki been, what film is Kasuka working on now and what part.

The whole thing was relaxing honestly and Izaya wondered why he had pushed these few friends of his away this whole time. Even if he was busy, they seemed pretty flexible with their own schedules to see him, and were obviously very interested in him and Kasuka.  _We'll have to make up for lost time I guess. Even if I didn't want to, Kasuka would tell me to._

The conversation had a small dip in it when Celty ran out of her own questions and they were left only to Shinra's, but they just kept answering dutifully or giving shrugs when they didn't really feel like answering. The only question that caught them off guard finally came, making them glance at each other. "So, I've been wondering.. You said you met a few months ago and then you hit it off a while ago, but I never asked. How did you guys meet? I'm sure if it was when Kasuka was hanging out with Shizuo then the meet wouldn't have been very warm." the doctor asked, watching them with a smile as the two debated inwardly on how to answer.

_We could lie, but Kasuka isn't the best at lying to people with a smile. Plus, we'd have to keep up that lie for years probably.. Uggh, what do we do?_

"Well, actually, me and Izaya did meet when Shizuo was with me but it was years ago. Shizuo and you and Izaya were still in sophomore year." Kasuka explained, making Izaya confused for a second before he realized what he was doing.  _Fucking bless you for your half-lies!_

"Yeah. And no, it wasn't the most cheerful introduction in the world, or a.. well, a proper one, but that's when we officially met. When we caught back up this time it was through Kasuka's work. I just happened to be there when they were starting to film something." Izaya continued on, watching as Shinra just nodded with interest, eyes bright as he heard the 'love story in progress' finally be revealed of it's prequel.

And he wasn't exactly lying either. He'd met Kasuka through his work, Izaya's hobby, and Izaya just so happened to be picked for the same one as Kasuka. And what a lovely coincidence it was.

**[Ah. So, you two just started talking and realized you got along?]** Celty suggested, watching them as the couple shared a look, shrugging to give a more or less answer.

"Pretty much. We just saw each other and started having a normal conversation since aniki wasn't there. It went a lot better than expected." Kasuka chuckled, holding Izaya's hand under the table again. It wasn't like they thought Shinra and Celty wouldn't appreciate them being affectionate while they talked about this but for Izaya it was just plain embarrassing, and Kasuka was nice enough to notice that and not make a show of them holding hands.

Shinra and Celty nodded, once again wishing them well before they started to finished their meal again and had a small dessert, which was actual dessert for Kasuka and Shinra while Izaya was finally presented his fatty tuna as a substitute for the sweet mochi. Then finally it was time for Kasuka and Izaya to go home, which home they weren't sure of yet but they were going, and both their hosts get them a warm farewell. Celty stayed behind to shut the door behind them and just before they did, she got their attention with a wave and started typing.

**[You two are an adorable couple. Keep it up, Kasuka. Kobayashi-san.]** And with that she shut the door, leaving a open-mouthed pair of astonished men in her wake outside the doctor's apartment.


	63. A Happy Expirement

**_Caution! This chapter is smut-tastic. Make sure you are away from family members or younger friends before continuing to read (if you do continue)._ **

* * *

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

"I just can't believe she found you out already. I wonder how long she's known." Kasuka muttered as they got into his home, shutting the door behind them before wandering closer to his boyfriend.

"Well, I doubt she's known for too long. She would have taken the chance to tease me about it almost immediately. At least she's kind enough to not blurt it out to Shinra." the informant replied, shrugging off his signature parka before Kasuka's arms were wrapped around his waist from behind.

"True. She'll probably wait to tell him or let us tell him ourselves instead." the actor hummed, leaning into his boyfriend's back and pressing a kiss to the back of his neck before resting his forehead on Izaya's shoulder. Ever since they'd set out for Shinra's house he'd felt sick, images of a dead body and another unconscious plaguing him the entire time.

He'd calmed down his thoughts about half way through the meal and even pushed it to the back of his mind by the time they left. But now he wanted nothing more than to push it back even further and just relax and have fun with his lover. He wasn't too sure how open Izaya would be about it either, they'd only had sex together a few times so far and their last time had gotten them into a lot of trouble, but he could try to get him in the mood first before really suggesting anything.

Izaya was more than willing to far, smiling lightly as he leaned back into the other as well. "You're needy again, aren't you?" the informant asked, trying to tease him but just getting a smile and chuckle out of him.

"What can I say? I love your attention." Kasuka admitted, wrapping his arms tighter as Izaya tried to move away from him, now making his boyfriend pout.

"Well you have all of it, now lemme go."

"Nope."

"Kasu-kun, pleeease?"

"Still nope."

Just to prove his point, Kasuka shifted until he could lift Izaya off the ground, an easy task seeing the man was almost an unhealthy weight still even though the position he was holding him made it very difficult to move. The informant twisted in his arms, squirming and grumbling things under his breath as he was held tight to Kasuka's chest, the actor taking him over to the couch and laying them both down on it.

Izaya huffed as he still wasn't let go, pouting up at his boyfriend with a small glare before he noticed the sweet smile on the other's face. "What are you so happy about?" Izaya demanded, hiding his face since he'd started blushing as soon as he looked at that damn smile.

"That we're together again and I can hold you and crush you like this. There's no chance of you escaping by the way, if you don't cuddle with me then I might just die." Kasuka prattled on, having a nonchalant tone but still smiling the widest that he had in a while. Even when he was in the mood he could never get over how cute his lover was and how much he just wanted to hold him and squeeze him.

"I was right. You're ridiculously needy." Izaya muttered into his shirt. Kasuka just let him hide there for a second before lifting his chin up and pressing a kiss to his lips, soft and sweet at the beginning. Izaya seemed a little surprised at first but soon was returning it, shifting his arms up from their trapped position to fold them around Kasuka's neck while they relaxed. Kasuka kept up the soft kisses, before long making them longer and pressing himself against his lover more tightly.

The actor could practically feel Izaya melting in his arms and it made him grin as they kissed, Kasuka finally swiping his tongue along the ravenett's lips to make him open up for him. From there things went quickly, Izaya moaned and Kasuka deepened the kiss, the actor shifted his arms so he could rest his hands on the other's hips and then he moved to press his knee between Izaya's legs, forcing a blush out of his lover when he moved it up to feel him.

"K-Kasu-kun.." the informant gasped, a shudder going through him as Kasuka pressed harder and moved Izaya's shirt out of the way, sliding the ravenett onto his back so Kasuka could leave a trail of hickeys along his torso. He could hear his lover continuing to gasp his name as he got lower and lower, until- "Kasuka, stop it." Izaya snapped at him.

The actor froze, sitting up suddenly and moving his hands away from the other man's zipper.  _Did I do something wrong?_ He must have looked like a deer in the headlights at the moment, eyes wide and confused as he waited for Izaya to say something.

And despite him expecting the other to look mad, he just looked embarrassed. "Um.. Sorry. I just wanted to go to the bedroom first.." Izaya got out, hands fidgeting with the couch cushion he was holding onto before he just hid his face, laying down again. "Just go on."

"No, no, it's fine!" Kasuka finally stuttered, moving out from where he'd been between Izaya's legs to pick him up. "If you wanted to then just say so." he tried to comfort, pressing kisses to the ravenett's cheek softly as he carried him bridal style, the informant's face still bright red as they traveled down the hall and into Kasuka's room, the actor shutting it with his foot.

"You didn't have to. I fuckin' scared you." Izaya muttered as he was laid back on the pillows, not meeting Kasuka's eyes as the younger man leaned over him. He knew that the other was upset whenever he cussed, seeing as he didn't do it on his own very often.

"Of course I don't have to. But I want to keep you happy, so it's nothing at all." he responded, turning Izaya's head to look at him as he ran fingers through the informant's hair. "So, is there anything else my love wants?" he asked softly, waiting patiently as Izaya's face heated right back up again.

"J-Just get on with what you were doing!" the other snapped, making him grin as he settled himself again on his knees.

"Whatever you wish." he teased, leaning down and getting back to work, sliding down his lover's jeans and underclothes before deciding that he'd tease him further. The actor ran his hands along the man's hips as he ghosted his lips over the erection in front of him, smirk growing on his face every time Izaya would shudder and avert his eyes, never once being able to watch Kasuka do things like this with a straight face. "Iza-chan, don't tell me you're still embarrassed."

Izaya simply ignored him as he once again played with his tip, pressing a soft kiss to it before pulling his mouth away from it entirely, watching his lover glare instantly. "What? It's no fun if you don't even see what I'm doing to you." Kasuka mused, one of the hands still resting on the other's hip moved to trail just above his lover's cock, not touching it and instead adding pressure to a spot he'd found during their last couple times together that drove the other ravenett crazy. Just like expected, the moment he put some more pressure on it Izaya was off of his elbows and now fully on the sheets, cheeks bright red as he bit his lip to keep in any embarrassing sounds.

"K-Kasuka, cut it out." Izaya whined, eyes squeezed shut as he definetly realized how much softer it had sounded than usual. And Kasuka, knowing what he'd done was right this time, just let out a grin and pressed down again before finally moving his hand to stroke him.

"If you start looking then I won't do it again." the actor compromised with a small laugh, leaning forward to catch his lips again after he was given a nod. During the kiss he kept his eyes open just to make sure Izaya was doing as told before removing the man's shirt completely and moving to grab lube out of his drawer, other hand beginning to pump his lover slowly. Izaya shifted under his touch as he kept playing with him, rocking his hips in a feeble effort before simply thrusting into Kasuka's hand, once again closing his eyes as he did so.

Kasuka dropped the lube onto the sheets before he gripped Izaya's hips with his free hand, pressing him into the sheets as his hand stilled. "You're not looking again." he whispered, waiting patiently before the ruby-eyed man to meet his gaze. They both seemed almost hesitant to continue this power play, Izaya was just too embarrassed and Kasuka wanted to be sweet like their first time again but it had been weeks since their last time together and it felt like forever to them both.. But if they didn't at least get this started how they were used to then they might end up continuing to postpone it.  _I'll be nicer in a moment. I promise._

"If you wanted more, you should have just told me." he added, leaning in to press more hickeys onto Izaya's shoulder, the actor beginning to pump his boyfriend's length again slowly before speeding up as reward for the moan he'd let out. Kasuka finished with the hickeys before pulling back to remove his own clothes, feeling trapped in them the longer this went on. When he was down to nothing he looked up at his boyfriend.

"Are you ready?" he asked, getting a small nod before Izaya glanced away from him, just about to be scolded for it before the informant interrupted him.

"I- um, actually I-I wanted to try um..." the ravenett started, soon trailing off and being allowed the silence as Kasuka waited for him to go on. The actor gave him a reassuring squeeze before he continued. "I-I was thinking that I could.. I could try t-to be on top." he finally made out, watching as Kasuka's eyes widened in surprise. Now that he'd gotten the request out it seemed like Izaya couldn't stop talking to defend himself, face bright red and excitement wilting as he curled in on himself. "Just once! I'm not even sure if I'd like it, or that you'd like it, I mean you always take care of me so if you didn't like it then I'd stop, I promise, I-I just-!"

"Alright." Kasuka muttered, still wide eyed as he agreed, finally shifting his gaze down before shifting to sit beside his lover. Now Izaya looked surprised.

"Wait. Alright? You're fine with it?" he asked to double check, both of them looking at each other for a second. "You don't look like it's an alright." he decided, turning his head away as he began to fidget with his hands. Kasuka grabbed them and held him in his own, shifting to move the man into his lap momentarily as well.

"I.. I'm just surprised, that's all. If you wanna try.. I can't say I don't like it yet." Kasuka admitted, thinking about it and not minding the image, at least not yet. He knew this would hurt him, it would at least sting like hell. Izaya had seemed perfectly fine during their first time though so he could only be sure of the after-effects. Izaya was about to stutter out another question before Kasuka silenced him, giving him a tight hug and a kiss before releasing him.

"We'll do fine. You already know how to prepare me from watching, right?" Kasuka asked, watching his lover nod quickly before he shifted to grab the bottle left to their side that had rolled closer during all their movement. "Then just copy what I did." he reasoned, swallowing his own anxiety before leaning back, eventually laying himself down completely.

When nothing happened for a moment Kasuka thought he'd chickened out but then he glanced up at him, noticing that he was just fiddling with the lube for a moment to warm it before moving on. He even seemed to have hardened again after steeling himself, looking a lot less scared after Kasuka's comforting words. "Just take your time." he reminded when Izaya finally moved his hand down between his legs, now making the actor nervous again.  _Take your own advice, this is fine._

And it was. Preparation went faster than expected, Izaya having found his lover's sweet spot on accident quite quickly and using it to his advantage to loosen him up. He'd even pulled away before Kasuka could finish, making him whine then bite his lip in embarrassment for a change.  _Dammit.. Now I know why he blushes so much, this is torture._  The actor let out another shudder as Izaya shifted closer to him as well, tip pressing against him as they both looked at each other.

Kasuka shut his eyes a second later as he prepared for Izaya to move, the informant hesitating before he finally let out "I-I'll be gentle." and with that pressed forward, making Kasuka jolt as he was penetrated. He felt horrid, like he'd just been stabbed somewhere sacred, but the feeling didn't last like he'd expected it to. He'd heard that when you have your first time it's almost never fully enjoyable because of the beginning but the pain passed in only a moment, quickly being relieved by the soothing heat now inside of him. He'd never noticed quite how warm his lover was until now either. His hands were always cold and, of course, his attitude was sometimes as well, but he felt so full and warm at the moment that the sting was pushed away for now.

He shifted his golden eyes up to meet ruby ones before swallowing his new found excitement and nodding to him. "Move." he ordered, getting a small smile in reply before he felt Izaya begin to push in further, making him shudder from the now smaller shocks of pain that went through him with each inch. They weren't as bad as the start and were pushed away even quicker, making him more than ready when Izaya didn't pause for him again, just slowly pulling out to the tip and beginning to thrust gently.

This continued for a moment, each moment bringing him more bliss but soon feeling like torture again, the actor not even knowing how to improve this himself when he was so unused to this position. Izaya didn't look completely sure what to do at the moment either besides pleasing him basically.  _We'll get used to this too._  he thought to himself before experimentally shifting his hips up further off of the sheets, a shudder running through him when he felt Izaya go deeper than before, the informant letting out a small gasp to show he'd noticed as well.

Izaya caught on quickly when Kasuka did it again, holding his hips firmly and trying to keep them up as he began to thrust faster, letting out small pants as he exerted himself in the new position. Kasuka wasn't much better though, the new perspective leaving him breathless as he seemed to have less air than before from the angle he was bent, making him pant and then let out a ragged moan as Izaya once again found his prostate. "Th-there." he let out weakly, barely noticing the other nod before burying himself deeper, thrusting harder than before and moving his hand to stroke the now-submissive actor beneath him.

Kasuka let out moan after moan as they both road out their positions to the end, Kasuka wrapping his legs around Izaya's waist to bring him closer just before he finished, the informant filling him up but continuing to thrust. "J-Just a bit more c'mon." Kasuka panted, really hoping Izaya wasn't too tired to let him finish too, so close he could taste it. Izaya tried his best to continue as well, his hips slowing down but hand pumping him faster to compensate until the ravenett finally burst, spilling onto his lover's hands and stomach before relaxing into the sheets.

They both stayed where they were for a few moments, panting, the two of them more exhausted after their love-making than usual as well. When Izaya caught his breath he moved up to lay in Kasuka's arms, the actor welcoming him and pulling him closer before lazily folding the sheets over them like a burrito. Kasuka let out a small hum as he closed his eyes, pressing a kiss to Izaya's lips as well.

"We're gonna have to practice that a bit more, aren't we?" he finally chuckled, running his fingers down Izaya's back as he felt the informant nod instead of saw him.

"Mhm.. Hours and hours of practice would make perfect." the informant replied, too sleepy to sound joking but still getting the message across.

"Next time we'll try for hours. For now, just sleep." the actor acknowledged, relaxing further until he heard Izaya's breath even out. He soon joined him in sleep, too tired to even dread the next morning.


	64. Day After

_[Kasuka's POV]_

The actor let out another hiss that morning as he forced himself out of bed and into the kitchen, Izaya trailing behind him with a face of guilt. "Please go back to bed. I can make breakfast for us.." the informant repeated, watching the other as he struggled down the stairs.

"No, it's my house I can make my own breakfast if I want to." Kasuka persisted, gasping and freezing about halfway down the stairs when he settled on the step more heavily than the others, sending a jolt of pain through his lower regions.

"But you could barely get dressed a minute ago, how am I supposed to trust that you won't fall down while making it?" the man huffed behind him, luckily not being able to see Kasuka roll his eyes. He loved the man, he really truly did which was what led him to letting this happen in the first place, but he could take care of himself even after being submissive. He did like to think of himself as the 'man' in the relationship, even if they were both equal.

"I'm perfectly fine. And if I fall down then I do, I'll just get up again." the actor sighed, finally reaching the bottom of the staircase and once again being followed by his boyfriend.  _I know we both know how this feels but I can still manage myself. It's just a little stabbing pain._ "Just sit down, I'm making yours too." the actor ordered, pointing to the kitchen table absently as he hobbled to the pantry and got a couple things out for their meal.

He was more than surprised when the other actually listened to him but he didn't mention it, thinking Izaya would just start to trail him again out of spite if he did. The cooking went slowly, Kasuka not being used to the limited mobility still, but he got it done all on his own and set a plate of eggs and hashbrowns in front of the informant with a smile. "See? I'm perfectly fine." And with that Kasuka took a seat across from him, trying his best to hide the wince when his backside made contact with the chair.

Izaya just watched his plate the whole time they ate, muttering something at the beginning of the meal he didn't catch. "What was that?"

"I said, you'd be more perfect if I hadn't been so rough with you. When we first tried you treated me like glass and last night I acted like a horny teenager. It must've been awful.." Izaya mused, not listening to the other as he tried to explain that he'd enjoyed it and that it was fine. He didn't get a single word through and finally gave up just as he was about to finish the meal, Izaya already done ahead of him.

"At least let me wash the dishes." Izaya once again persisted, just getting a stare to try and break him down before Kasuka handed his plate to him dutifully, resigning to the fact that he'd be treated much too lightly for his liking today. It was just something he had to accept at this point.

Kasuka picked himself up and moved to the living room while Izaya finished up, the informant on his way to join him when there was a knock on the door, making him turn just as he got in Kasuka's sights to answer it. He heard the door open and there was a pause, no hello or anything and he frowned in apprehension as he turned toward the hall leading there. "Who is it?" Kasuka called, still getting silence for a moment before there was grumbling, Izaya coming back inside with an irritated look on his face, Shizuo trailing behind him now.

"It's just the monster making his rounds." Izaya responded with a smirk, glancing back to see the blond now with a deeper scowl. Kasuka just grinned a little at the interaction before hugging his boyfriend to his side when he sat down.

"Hey aniki. I didn't expect you." the ravenett noted, not sure what to say since they hadn't seen each other since the incident at Shinra's. He didn't know how Shizuo had taken it either after Kasuka and Izaya suddenly left but he'd hoped that he was alright.

"Yeah, sorry. I just felt like coming over to hang out. I wasn't sure you'd even be home.. Or if you'd have a pest over." the blond answered, Izaya just shot him a sickly sweet smile at that.

"It's 'guest', Shizu-chan. Is that single-cell of yours finally forgetting how to speak?"

"I know how to tell a pest from a person real easy, you damn flea."

"Ne, so sad.. I was really looking forward to the day you wouldn't open that big mouth of yours."

Kasuka just shook his head, butting in to join the conversation again. "I'd love to hang out, aniki. Did you have a game in mind?" he interrupted, cutting in just before his brother could get another insult out. He didn't need for them to piss each other off at the moment, he was even less mobily enabled to stop them than usual at the moment.

The blond just shrugged, looking at him with a sorry smile. "I didn't plan anything, sorry. Again, I wasn't sure if you'd even be here." he admitted.

"I understand, it's no problem. I'll just pick-" Kasuka was about to stand up, bracing himself for the pain of standing when Izaya was suddenly moving towards the cabinet without him.

"Actually, I can pick one! Kasuka's been teaching me how to play." the informant announced as he opened it and crouched down, sifting through the variety of games quickly as Shizuo and Kasuka both raised a brow at his behavior. Obviously both brother knew him well enough, though in different ways, to realize that him admitting to being taught anything by someone 'lesser' was extremely uncommon. Almost unheard of.

_Why would he-? Oh._

Kasuka tried his best to not let his face heat up when he realized Izaya had acted so quickly to save him the pain of acting as host. He'd almost forgotten already about being given special treatment today and he hadn't even considered Izaya continuing the treatment when someone, especially Shizuo, was there with them. He calmed down his own embarrassment before the blond could notice though and Izaya came back with a couple games to pick from, almost shoving them in Shizuo's face just to irritate him further.

"Pick one, beast. I also found a fighting game, I assume it's yours." the informant noted, getting the blond's worst glare thrown at him before Shizuo randomly snatched one out of the ravenett's hands, turning it over once before actually choosing it.

"This one is fine, just don't infect my controller." Shizuo announced, both of them still having their little glare-off until Izaya turned to put the game in.

Kasuka just watched in slightly tense amusement as they bickered like normal, joining them in the few rounds where the game chosen let them have up to four players. Shizuo kept complaining that he'd come over to play with his brother, not his brother's pet snake, but Izaya just continued to ignore him and keep an even score with him as he cuddled further into Kasuka's side, obviously claiming him even without words.

Shizuo finally let out a groan of frustration, along with a quieter one coming from Izaya, as the two tied almost the entire game - one of them being able to score points before the other would earn them back or lose just enough to be almost neck and neck with their opponent. Kasuka entertained himself with being the announcer, quoting almost their every move, being unbiased to both just to keep it light and fun instead of one of them feeling offended, and simply enjoying himself the entire time.

After a couple hours of them playing games like this Kasuka felt like the two could actually get along regularly, maybe not without him there for motivation to behave but this was definetly a huge leap for them.  _Then again, they have been completely separated on different sides of the room this whole time. I'm sure if they were within touching distance of each other one would have a black eye by now, maybe a stab wound or broken wrist. Yeah, it's best not to expect too much yet._

This went on until a while after noon. Around two Shizuo got a call from Tom asking if he could come in for work and the blond accepted, saying he could use all the extra money he could get around now with the season making it colder and colder. His heater wasn't the best at working when asked to in the first place, in Kasuka's experience.

So, the two ravenett's showed him out, Izaya seeming to have forgotten about keeping a close eye on him, since he didn't say anything about not getting up or something of the sort. And everything was fine, Kasuka even expected to end his day and this visit without one embarrassing screw up or conversation too. But, luck was not on his side.

After standing at the door for longer than expected, Izaya having made a sly comment about him needing to dye his hair again soon causing another episode of bickering between them, Kasuka had shifted on his feet a certain way that had moved a muscle in his back, one of the more sore ones he liked to add. Without realizing he'd done it, the pain went through him and instantly increased ten-fold when he tried to right himself too quickly, just causing him to let out a small wince of pain before he dropped to the floor, now more embarrassed about falling than he was worried about his own pain.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Izaya worriedly, echoed closely by the blond who crouched next to him, and Kasuka just tried to push them off him as he struggled to stand up again. Izaya just tried to help him up quietly, both hoping that Shizuo wouldn't think of the accurate reason to why he'd suddenly been in pain. Neither accounted for Izaya's shirt to slip down further than usual and let anyone paying attention see that he had very dark marks on his shoulder, looking dangerously close to hickeys.

Once Kasuka was on his feet again and pushed them away, frowning as he insisted that he was fine, Shizuo glanced at the informant beside him with accusing eyes. Then those accusing eyes fell on the marks on his shoulder and looked just about ready to explode.

Within the blink of an eye, Izaya was pushed outside the door and quickly locked out by the blond who then proceeded to pick up his little brother and take him upstairs so he could lay down. "Aniki, let go! Go open the door for him!"

"No, we're having a serious discussion!"

"Uuuggh! I do not need the sex talk, I obviously don't need it!" Kasuka emphasized, only succeeding in making the blond blush as he proceeded to double check that he knew what he was doing anyways.


	65. Normal Day in These Un-normal Lives

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

"I'm really sorry about that.." Kasuka muttered into the phone, Izaya on the other line for the apology about earlier. The informant just let out a huff and Kasuka combed through his hair absently as he worried about the other being mad at him. "If we look on the bright side, at least he didn't try to kick your ass or anything. Right?" Kasuka offered, hoping it would ease the frustration at least a little bit.

There was a sigh on the other side and Izaya finally spoke up. "Yeah, that's true. Though I almost would have preferred it, ya know, against spending two hours outside your door waiting for him to leave before leaving. Did he really give you 'the talk' that entire time? It seems like an awful lot when we obviously know how." the informant mused.

"That's what I said! But yeah, he gave me the talk again. Most of it was asking if I gave you consent or not though and it went back to that almost a million times, plus he didn't even believe me at first at all." Kasuka sighed, hearing something over the phone and just being able to imagine his boyfriend shaking his head at the thought. "Anyways, do you wanna come back over now that he's gone? I doubt he's patrolling my building or anything." the actor offered.

"If you really want me to then yeah, but I wouldn't put it past the beast to be doing just that. I'll be over again in half an hour, pick a movie for us or something, you still shouldn't be moving around a lot." Izaya reminded, now being on the receiving end of disbelief.

"Fine, I will. Cya soon."

* * *

The rest of the night had gone by quickly, the movie passing the time whenever they weren't chatting quietly. Izaya didn't say anything about him not moving around for the rest of the night, which was good, but that was probably only because Kasuka didn't try to get up again. The only time he did was to use the bathroom anyway, so Izaya obviously didn't say anything.

They fell asleep in one another's arms around 9, still being tired from the night before and that just being added onto from the energy used to hang out with Shizuo without Izaya and him killing one another, and of course their last escapade that had taken waaay too long. The sun rose too quickly as well, neither wanting to go to work in the least. "If we keep skipping work, especially on the same days, people aren't just going to be guessing that we're together. They're gonna accuse us." Kasuka mused as they both were half-awake, still lying in bed together under the sheets.

"And I should care about that why?" Izaya yawned, nuzzling his head further into his boyfriend's neck.

"Because us dating and them knowing would mean you getting more paparazzi. Do you want everyone in the world to know that you cross dress for half a living?" Kasuka replied, lifting his head and shifting away from the other just enough to let cold air in, his goal being accomplished when the cold air made the other ravenett open his eyes again.

"No, I don't..." Izaya finally muttered, heaving a deep sigh before pulling himself up and stretching, letting out a small shiver as Kasuka ran a hand up his spine but otherwise hiding a smile from it. "C'mon, if I have to get up then so do you. I thought those were the rules." Izaya even gave the other a small shove to add to his point.

"Yeah, yeah, rules are rules... Stupidest rule we ever made though." Kasuka admitted, picking himself up as well and relaxing when most of the pain from yesterday was gone, now just an ache that barely hurt him even when he bent over to pick something up.  _Good, I don't want people asking more questions than necessary again._

The two got dressed, called up Toren and asked him to drive them over to Izaya's so he could put on fresh clothes, then finally got to work. Everything seemed just as calm, the word used very loosely, and normal as it had since the first day they met each other on set and for a moment Kasuka wondered if everything odd and exciting that had happened so far since then had all been in their heads.

But of course it hadn't been. Dong-Yul was still avoiding them like the plague when not asked to go near them, Shara was long gone. Every member of the cast knew them by name or stage name and were comfortable around them, and all they had to worry about, once again, was memorizing lines and keeping a smile on their faces as they did it. Well, a smile on Izaya's face; everyone had practically given up on making Kasuka smile for them unless Izaya was there since it never worked otherwise.

And of course the most important thing that had happened hadn't been in their heads, Izaya and Kasuka were happily together and loving every moment of it.

The two separated after sharing a soft smile and went to do their own work before coming together again, finally, at around 3 pm, a whole day apart. They relaxed on the couch together as they read their lines, both upset that they still couldn't cuddle one another while they did it but not wanting to have to explain themselves if the director suddenly burst in or maybe an intern that was extremely new. They settled for their positions now and kept practicing until they were called out to film a scene, finally being let off again for the day at around 6.

"Do you have more work to do?" Kasuka asked in the car, frowning lightly when he got a nod in reply.

"Shiki's been needy lately. I don't know what's been up with the news but there seems to be a lot of kidnappings around now, so that means there's a lot of parents willing to come to us for help about it." the informant replied, voice low so Toren wouldn't be too interested in what they were saying. Usually Toren was good about ignoring them in the first place but if they talked too loudly then it was inevitable that he would get the brunt of a conversation.

"Ah, I see.. Just make sure you don't work yourself too hard alright? I can't even imagine doing two jobs like you do." the actor muttered, pulling Izaya closer to him and giving him a peck on the cheek. Izaya just let out a chuckle.

"Please. You just can't imagine doing two jobs because you practically already do three."

Kasuka tilted his head at that. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're actually famous. You're an actor and have been for a while, but like most actors that just means you get dragged into more stuff. You have to go on talk shows, go to a lot more signings than me, have to meet important people from other companies, have been on commercials, have practically been a male model for the last couple years-" Izaya got a look from him at that last one, the informant just blushing as he pouted, "I wasn't being creepy. I was googling something and you were in one of the ads that popped up."

The Heiwajima just rolled his eyes at that, smiling lightly. "It's your job to be kinda creepy. Thankfully how adorable you are makes up for it." A jab in the stomach was given to him, but just a little one this time. Izaya was still pouting, which was probably why.

"Anyways, you have at least 5 jobs in one. You getting another hobby could throw you off the workaholic deep-end." Izaya finished, letting his boyfriend think that all over for a moment before he got a nod in reply.

"Yeah, I guess you're right.. Good thing the few hobbies I have don't take a lot of effort then."

Toren finally pulled up to Izaya's building and the couple said goodbye to each other with a kiss. "I'll see ya tomorrow. Goodnight, Kasu-kun."

"Goodnight, Iza-chan."


	66. Got Ya On File

_ [Izaya's POV] _

_Ugh, why do I have to go back so soon?_ Izaya complained in his head, hands in his pockets and each wrapped around a flick-blade as he made his way to Shiki's office. Their headquarters had moved again, this time to an even shadier part of town, and of course that meant an early evaluation for him and a couple others.

Despite being used to this, it being routine by now, he couldn't help feeling nervous. He'd already ticked off his boss quite a few times within the last two months and had no idea if that would affect what happened today or not. Sure, he'd tried to change his job and all but it wasn't like he had asked to quit. Shiki couldn't drag him back into staying at headquarters over just that, could he? Well.. He could if he wanted to.

_I just really hope he doesn't want to._

The informant sighed as he finally got to his destination, looking over the building and noticing it blended in almost perfectly with the other business offices around. It wasn't flashy but it also didn't look run down and the only thing that made it different was that there weren't as many vehicles parked out front as there had been in the surrounding buildings.  _Nice choice._

He went inside and asked someone where to go before finding his own way instead. Izaya was even used to being ignored by the people here by now, most of them just being rude and others being suspicious of him the moment he walked in the door. It took right up until his appointed time for him to find the door and be given permission to go inside, how quickly he was shoved in making him gulp down some anxiety.

If the guards were antsy about letting anyone in, especially him since these were the same guys that had seen him last time, then that could only mean Shiki was already in a bad mood.  _Where's Shinnosu when you need him?_  he inwardly groaned, glancing around at the rest of the guards that were currently stationed in Shiki's office. More than last time by about 5 men, Izaya noticed.

He put on his best smirk and walked walked forward before waiting for him to be addressed. Even Izaya knew better than to start taking like he owned the place at his own evaluation. Agonizing minutes passed by as Shiki ignored him, but it was only about ten minutes after he walked in that the man looked up at him with a scowl and gestured for him to sit down, which he obeyed.

"Orihara. If there's anything good about you to say, it's that you're punctual." Shiki huffed, leaning down to grab something out of his desk.  _Yup, he's in a bad mood.._  Izaya waited patiently as a file was taken out, quite a large one, and set onto the desk. Shiki just flipped through it without looking at most of the pages before stopping on one and reading through it. "A bad thing to say about you is that you've been taking too damn long on your assignments. Just doing three of them well could take you a week before, now you need at least two to get them done half-assed." his boss remarked, looking up at him like he expected an excuse. One Izaya wasn't stupid enough to give.

"I'm well aware of the time it's been taking me. My schedule hasn't been as flexible as before, as you know, but if need be I'll start putting twice as much effort." Izaya offered, calculating in his head just how much that would mean before he'd said it.  _Kasuka likes watching me work and I can still talk to him while I'm gathering most information that we need, so that isn't a problem. I might start getting less sleep but I'd still be getting more than when I was a student so that shouldn't be much of a big deal either.. I can handle it._ Even if he couldn't, it was try or have his boss to deal with.

Shiki watched him for a second before moving on, looking through the papers again. "Since the summer you've gotten us almost over 2 million dollars and counting, a fourth of that coming just from your own assignments without me telling you..." his boss listed off, muttering a couple numbers under his breath as he did more calculations. Izaya had noticed a while ago that while they did have their own people to do calculations like these, those same numbers probably being right on that paper for him to read as well and make himself look smarter, Shiki liked to keep talking as long as it made himself look better. When he was done with his muttering he scowled, looking up at the informant before him again. "If your share is any less than that by the time I check up on you again in Spring, that hobby and all it entails is going to be off limits. Permanently." the Yakuza boss warned, Izaya trying his best to not take the threat too seriously.

Both Shiki and Izaya knew what consequences there could be on his work ethic if something like taking away his entire social life in a second actually happened, the results being a lot less than productive in Shiki's sake. If the man did actually take away his hobby, along with his boyfriend, then it would have to be over a much larger loss than just a couple grand, making any threats he was given a lot more manageable.

Still, Izaya suppressed a shiver as he nodded his understanding. Shiki closing the file and dropping it back into his desk absently before the informant glanced around the room again, feeling better now that the actual evaluation was over.

"Would you mind me asking why there are so many guards in here?" Izaya asked finally, since he hadn't been given the signal to leave yet and it was painfully quiet in the room. Shiki glanced at him with a raised brow like he hadn't expected to be asked before lighting a cigar for himself and taking a drag.

"Doesn't matter if I mind, it's none of your fucking business. Besides, you should be able to guess since we just had a move. Now get the fuck out of my sight." Shiki ordered, turning away from him in his chair as the informant did just that. Once he was out of the building he breathed another sigh of relief, almost relaxing enough to call up his boyfriend right then and ask if they could go on a date tonight. But then he reminded himself that he would probably have another 4 assignments waiting in his inbox for him the minute he got home, just adding to the ones he still needed to finish.  _If I'm going to blow off work, it's not gonna be the day of. Sorry Kasu-kun._ he thought to himself, resigning his entire night to work and finally heading to bed at around midnight, sending Kasuka the first and last text of the night.  **[Goodnight.]**


	67. Let Me In

_ [Izaya's POV] _

"No, sorry. I still have a ton to do today." the informant said softly, frowning to himself as he looked at the list of assignments in front of him on his new laptop. Just like he'd expected the moment he left Shiki's office, for the last couple days there had been almost an endless stream of assignments waiting for him. He cut it down by getting rid of the ones his boss hadn't personally assigned but the list was still awfully long, the time limit given for him to do every one of them being 3 weeks. And, unlike what he was used to, a couple of his current assignments were to find members of the Yakuza who had recently tried to bail out, them running off in groups to try and get away.  _Sorry I have to drag you back guys. I don't want to be here either._

Kasuka just sighed over the phone softly but said that he understood. "Can I at least come over and talk while you work again? Or are your assignments really difficult?" the actor asked him, getting a hum in reply.

"Well.. That depends. I have a couple that are harder and a couple that I could talk to you while doing but I have no idea how long the harder ones will take so I should start on those first..." Izaya worked out aloud, not wanting the other ravenett to think he was just pausing to make blowing him off more believable.

"Okay.. Just remember to take breaks every couple hours, alright?"

"Yes, Kasu-kun."

"And remember to eat. I'm going to text you at midnight and see if you did if you aren't asleep by then."

"Alright, Kasu-kun."

"... I love you, Izaya." Kasuka finished, making Izaya blush but grin, knowing half of the reason Kasuka said it was to check that he was really listening.

"I love you too, Kasuka. I'll try to get at least a couple of these done by Friday so we can go on that date this weekend, kay? Good night." the informant replied, just imagining the smile on the other's face when he'd said it back to him so easily.

Of all the things they had imagined having a hard time with in their relationship, it had been saying those three words to each other and saying them at the right time. It wasn't uncommon for them to hear about a couple being made for each other but saying something at the wrong time and it beginning to head downhill from where they'd been. But somehow after a couple months of being together, them jokingly saying it on an off chance had turned into them saying it whole-heartedly almost every time they had a conversation like this or when they talked about each other, and thankfully every time they said it it got easier.

"Good night, Iza-chan." Kasuka finished, hanging up and leaving Izaya to the dreaded assignments.

"Alright.. So I have to track their new identities, if they have one, find out where they're headed or where they are, figure out who they're with or who they took with them and then figure out the best way for Shiki to trap them and get them back so the fucker doesn't think I'm slacking off... Fun." the ravenett grumbled to himself, pushing his bangs out of the way for a moment before sighing and getting to work. "This is gonna be a long week."

* * *

_[Kasuka's POV]_

"I told you to eat something!" Kasuka sighed in exasperation as he heard Izaya's stomach growl once again as the informant worked meticulously on his laptop even at their shared workplace. The ravenett just gave him a small, sorry smile as he glanced away from the extra work.

"I know, I know. But at least I got to bed at an okay time. Besides, they'll be getting us lunch soon." Izaya replied, just getting a shake of the head from his boyfriend.

"True. I still don't get why you have so many assignments now though. You've never been this busy.." the actor mumbled, leaning onto him and wrapping his arm around the older man's shoulders.

"I've been busier than this before, just ask Namie whenever you get the chance. Once I'm done with these first ones I'll have more time though, I promise." the informant reassured, smiling still though it didn't seem as relaxed. Kasuka just nodded and pressed a kiss to Izaya's temple as he turned back to his work again, the actor picking up his script and skipping through it absently as he tried to distract himself.

He couldn't help noticing that whenever Izaya talked about work he would get uncomfortable or quiet, giving him simple answers instead of letting him know everything. And he knew part of it was that he shouldn't know about Izaya's work in the first place for his own safety but he'd rather hear about it from him and be in danger than just watch patiently as Izaya got more reserved whenever he was given multiple assignments. It was almost like working in general made him nervous, but Kasuka had no clear idea of why.  _Maybe that's just how people are when they're in an illegal business. It can't be easy._

And it really couldn't, always having to lie about what you do for money and where you're going if you're called up. But Izaya didn't have those particular problems, if he had work then he could just say he was busy and there wouldn't be any further questions than 'when do you think you'll be back?'.

Kasuka tried not to let it bother him too much, since it wasn't originally his business and Izaya had been doing this probably for a lot longer than Kasuka realized, but when he glanced over to see Izaya forgetting to smile and just working intently, eyes skimming over whatever information he was finding and looking bored out of his mind, not to mention tired.. well, Kasuka found it a lot harder to listen to his head than usual.

"Hey, Izaya." the actor muttered, grabbing his boyfriend's attention enough for him to look up again. "Do you like your job? ..Your first one, I mean." Kasuka clarified, the informant looking confused at first. Izaya blinked once as he thought, biting his lip almost as he glanced at the laptop in front of him again, fingers now immobile where they were hovering above the keys.

"I dunno.." Izaya admitted, glancing up at him again with a small shrug before he went back to working. "I'm good at it."

"I didn't mean do you like how you work; I mean, do you like doing it." the actor tried again, watching as Izaya seemed to lean into his assignment more. "You almost never have a smile on your face when you work anymore." Kasuka announced, making his voice one tone louder this time so Izaya wouldn't ignore him. If he did then Kasuka would drop it anyway, he didn't want to tick off his lover or anything, he just wanted to know what was going on in Izaya's head.

Izaya continued to ignore him for a minute before saving whatever he'd just done and shutting his laptop. "Kasuka, what you're asking me is the same as asking anyone 'do you enjoy breathing?'. It doesn't matter what you say, you're going to end up doing it anyway." the informant sighed, moving his laptop onto the couch beside him before leaning into the actor a bit more and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Can we focus on your job now? I'm sorry we haven't memorized anything in two hours." the informant pressed, glancing up at him with a look something close to defeat.

Kasuka, not knowing how to respond, just nodded and grabbed their scripts, beginning their scene and letting them move on from the conversation until they were finally called up for filming.


	68. Shut Up and Rest

_[Izaya's POV]_

"Would you stop that?" Namie snapped from across the room, scowl on her face as she looked at the ravenett currently working on his third major assignment. Izaya looked up for a second in surprise but still frowned tiredly.

"Stop what?"

"Your typing. I dunno what you're so pissed about but don't break your keyboard over it." his assistant explained, raising a brow at the fact he didn't notice he was typing harder than usual.

"Nothing's bothering me, this is how I type." Izaya disregarded, going back to what he was doing and zoning out once more while he worked until there was something thrown at him, then another, both landing in his hair. He let out a breath, trying his best to be patient and ignore her so she would go away but when the tenth one landed in his raven locks he finally looked up again, this time with a full on scowl. "Namie, you're going to be fired if you do that one more time." he threatened, now seeing her eyes widen in surprise at the tone.

Sure, there was always a threat of being fired between them, they were boss and employee after all, but he'd never once had to verbally remind her. They looked at each other for a moment before Izaya scanned over what was in front of him, now trying to pull the paper-clips out of his hair as he did so.

"Izaya, seriously. Something's up with you so just say it." Namie persisted again, this time verbally as she walked up to him with a coffee cup in hand just half an hour after their first incident. He took it from her and ignored her again as he drank it, really feeling like he needed it now that it was going on midnight on a Friday night and he didn't feel like he'd accomplished anything. "Izaya!"

The shout was the last straw and he almost slammed his cup down, trying to calm down the irritation going through him as he looked up at her. "I'm trying to get work done and I'm tired, you aren't helping. That's what's up, now go do your job or leave." he ordered, not even looking away from her yet when Namie had suddenly closed his laptop on him, almost snapping it on his fingers.

_You're so lucky that auto-saves…_

Namie waited patiently for him to say something, gaze accusing as they stared at each other. When he refused to give her what she wanted, she tried beginning. "You're stressed, and a lot more than usual. What's wrong?" she asked again, this time making herself sound more caring.  _Don't try to guilt me Namie, it never works and it's just annoying._  he thought to himself, looking away from her and over at his coffee mug instead as he rubbed his temples, feeling a headache forming. There was silence for almost 15 minutes as Namie and Izaya both persisted on their own sides, the informant just taking it as a chance for a break until he finally couldn't stand not working and not doing something fun at the same time, finally breaking down.

"I'm just frustrated. I've been working whenever I get the chance, even when you aren't here and still have a lot to do. I've hit a wall in this assignment and only have another two weeks to do it along with all my other assignments and I haven't been able to spend time with Kasuka very much because of it." Izaya spilled out, his voice level but quiet as he tried to make Namie only be able to catch about half of it. Annoying Namie was one of his favorite pass-times after all, it was worth a shot to try and cheer himself up, but sadly for them both it didn't work. Luckily, however, Namie had better hearing than he anticipated.

Namie went over what he said for a second before finally leaning on his desk casually, crossing her arms in front of herself. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?" she asked him, getting another silence from him as he fiddled with one of the paper-clips still in his hair, which refused to cooperate about letting go of the small knot it had caught on. "Have you been eating?" Another silence. "I know you haven't been sleeping-"

"You sound just like him." Izaya suddenly snapped, the stress that had caused his headache now feeling more pressing as he was forced to push off the source. He tried to calm himself down, his assistant was just trying to keep him healthy, along with his boyfriend who was sending him periodic texts throughout the day that would help him momentarily before he got back to work. But he couldn't feel happy about it.  _If I don't get this done then I'll have to cancel on him again and then it'll be awkward. I almost never say no to him about dates and it's been a while since our last one too. I hate this.._

"Izaya." He glanced up for a second. "Just go upstairs and sleep for a while. I'll stay up and wake you in an hour or two, alright?" Namie suggested, arms still folded in front of herself since she hadn't moved since Izaya had spoken up a few moments ago. The informant just watched her in disbelief for a second before he glanced at the coffee in front of him, seeing it was still full.

"Just let me work until I fin-"

"I'll keep it in the microwave for you." his assistant interrupted rudely, whacking him on the back of the head just before she picked up said cup and walked away with it again. Izaya rubbed his head for a second as he groaned.

"You know I only like coffee fresh."

"You'll take whatever I fucking give you, now get upstairs and go to sleep!"

"Theeere's the darling I know and love~!" Izaya shouted back to her, half way on the stairs. He sprinted the rest of the way up and into his room when the she-beast came running out to whack him on the head again for his nickname, effectively locking himself up in his room until she had calmed down then unlocking it again just before he went over to his bed and collapsed on it. Within a few minutes he was already dead asleep, stress of the last few boyfriend-less days dripping away.


	69. Satisfaction

**_Warning: Dirty things._ **

* * *

_ [Izaya's POV] _

Izaya gasped, a shiver running through him at hands running along his sides, the touch light and teasing as he didn't resist them. Every motion was like a small blessing to his over sensitive skin, especially when those hands moved to play with him, one on his cock and the other keeping him still from the tight grip on his ass. He could tell there was going to be a mark from that grip later but he couldn't care less. Who would see it? His lover, of course.

The informant let out another breathless moan as the hand squeezed his flesh almost painfully, forcing his eyes open to see the golden ones he loved so much. He just made out a smile on the other's face before he closed his eyes again, pressing them shut tightly when he'd been entered with no warning. "K-Kasuka!" he exclaimed, unused to the rough treatment. Usually Kasuka was very tender in bed, even if Izaya was begging him for more, but now he wasn't holding back, already thrusting into him slowly so he could adjust better.

"Keep screaming, just like that." the ravenett above him ordered, taking one of the informant's legs and raising it to rest on his shoulder, pushing deeper into his body. Izaya couldn't help crying out again, this time in pleasure, before he started to chant his boyfriend's name softly. The jolts of pleasure kept lancing through his body as the scene dragged on, Kasuka finding his sweet spot and abusing it without hesitation, slamming into it repeatedly and smirking at the cries he gave out when he would slow down, the informant begging for more every time he threatened to stop.

He was so close he could feel it, the coil in his stomach just about to snap, the arch in his back just helping Kasuka reach deeper and straight to that one glorious spot. _So fucking close..!_

* * *

He shot up from where he was, panting and out of breath as his eyes tried to adjust to the almost non-existent light in his bedroom. Izaya held himself up on his hands, for a second more confused by the sight of his pillow than the absence of another being with him. Then he recollected his dream and where he was, the very thought making his cheeks turn red before he dropped himself back into the pillow face first to push it away.

It was no wonder he'd woken up, he was practically suffocating himself, but to wake up from that...  _Ugh, what the hell is wrong with me? I haven't had a stupid dream like that since middle school._ he groaned in his head, turning his head to the side as he took a deep breath to calm down. He hadn't been able to finish so he was still needy but he couldn't bring himself to do anything about it. The informant didn't know why but just thinking of taking care of himself that way was repulsive and always had been, so he toughened up and just let it go away on it's own for now.

He pondered the reason of why he'd had the dream in the first place, knowing that compared to a lot of people his needs were mostly in check. This didn't happen often, sometimes not even for a year straight, but then again he did have a cause. Before recently he'd been a virgin, a proud one, and now that he had a wonderful boyfriend to handle his needs and most of the time cause them.. Well, his body seemed to be adjusting quite nicely to the attention and had no problems letting him know it wasn't happy with Kasuka's absence either.  _With every blessing there's a curse, at least when it comes to me.._

As his eyes focused again and looked at the clock on his night-stand, the time made him groan again, this time at his assistant. "Namie, why the hell didn't you wake me up!? You said two hours, now it's almost morning!" Izaya shouted down from his room, glaring at the clock in place of the culprit. Sure, it might not have been morning per say, the clock said it was 4 am, but it was close enough when he'd specifically wanted to be woken up again to get work done.

"You should know exactly why I didn't by now, lover boy!" Namie shouted back up to him, a cocky tone to her voice that made him scowl before it dropped in mortification.

_Holy shit, she heard me... If she didn't hear me, she saw me. Is that better or worse?_  He tried to imagine himself panting in his sleep and mumbling Kasuka's name, once again going red from the embarrassment.  _Definitely worse.. Much worse..._

Izaya stayed where he was for another 20 minutes, finally feeling like he'd calmed down enough, emotionally and physically, to get up from his bed. The informant pushed himself up again and headed directly to his bathroom for a shower, cleaning himself off despite there not being a real mess and hopping out again before Namie could think she even heard the water running.

He dressed himself in non-sweaty clothes and walked downstairs, not even looking up at her and hoping that he wasn't blushing again. If he was going to have a dirty dream after so long and have a witness, he was going to own it, not be a baby about it.  _I have a hot, awesome, famous boyfriend who would fuck me in a second if I asked him to. I have no reason to be embarrassed about thinking of him that way._  he told himself the whole way to the kitchen, almost being able to feel Namie's smirk as he passed her and pressed the button on his microwave to heat up his disgustingly cold coffee.

Everything was quiet as he came back out as well, the informant taking a seat at his desk with no qualms and being able to open his laptop and restart it in silence. Things stayed like that for a little while as he let himself surf the internet of his own accord before he really got back to work, still feeling a bit groggy and deciding to not over look something in his task because of it.

After half an hour, Namie reading a magazine she'd brought with her at her desk, she spoke up. "So, did the baby wet his bed?" she asked cockily, all the coffee that had once been in Izaya's mouth now threatening to cover his screen as he held in a coughing fit.

"What the hell!?"

"What? It's a legitimate question. Besides, you make me do your laundry sometimes, I wanna be prepared."

"That was one time when I was sick, and it still wouldn't be any of your business!"

"I'm your employee, your business is my business~"

"Namie, go fuck yourself."

"Why? Just because you had to.."

**"Namie!"**


	70. Reunite

_[Kasuka's POV]_

_This sucks…_  the actor thought to himself, spending another day alone on his weekend. It was already Sunday, and while Izaya had taken the time to text with him unlike yesterday, he still was hoping that they could have gone on an actual date together.  _I hope he's not lying about taking care of himself. I know he has his assistant there but she can only do so much… Maybe I should go over and see him anyways. If he's working as long as I think he is then his eyes must hurt by now._

Kasuka kept running through his thoughts for a few moments, wondering if it would really be worth it to go or not. If Namie wasn't there to open the door then he might be ignored once there, Izaya not wanting to check who it was, or Izaya would notice it was him and send him away since he was still busy.  _I wouldn't put it passed him… But, he did say that he missed me a lot. Even without me saying it first.._

He examined his phone, which was currently silent, as he waited for another reply from the other. It was almost 6 in the afternoon already with no hints from Izaya that he was close to finishing what he was doing, the hopes of even having a late night date were quickly vanishing.

_That's it, I'm going to visit him._

The actor pulled himself up, got ready to go and quickly left, asking Toren to drive him so he would be there more quickly.

Soon he was in front of his boyfriend's door, knocking politely as he waited for someone to open the door. There was a pause and he considered trying again in a few moments before the door finally opened, Namie standing in front of him. She looked peeved for a moment before she looked at him in surprise. "How did I know it would be you?" she asked softly, letting him open his mouth for a reply before she rolled her eyes and cut him off. "Come in and get him. I can make him sleep and eat but going outside is out of my hands." Namie told him, quietly now as he gestured for him to go inside.

The actor did as told and walked in, peaking around the corner of the entryway to see how his lover was doing first, grimacing slightly at the sight. Despite Izaya being rested, to his knowledge, the informant looked almost brain-dead where he sat, fingers running over the keys as he typed and eyes glued to the screen in front of him.

"Namie, who was it?" Izaya called to her when the door shut behind the actor, no reply being given and making him look up. Kasuka threw the other man a smile when he looked up to see him, pure surprise on his face before a smile crept in. "You didn't tell me you were coming over." the informant noted, glancing at the screen in front of him before standing to move closer for a hug. Kasuka gave him one without complaint, wrapping him up in his arms and nearly squeezing the life out of him before they finally separated again.

"I didn't want you to say no and stop me. And honestly if you did say no I wouldn't have listened." the ravenett admitted, pressing kisses to his lover's cheeks happily between talking. Izaya didn't protest but didn't kiss him back either, probably embarrassed already that Namie could see him receiving affection. The informant glanced back at Namie for a second before quickly, almost sneakily, pressing a kiss to his lips before pulling away.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you, I still have a lot-"

"I know, I know, you're super busy. But I'm here now so you can at least spare an hour, can't you?" Kasuka interrupted, eyes pleading him to agree when the other looked hesitant.

"I haven't made any progress in this one though…"

"That's because your brain is fried, give it a break. You've done more than enough this week from what I've seen."

"The week just started."

"You've done more than enough for a weekend then, just trust me. If you keep working like this you're going to make yourself sick, which will make me sick. Do you want me to get sick?" Kasuka prompted, challenging him now as Izaya rolled his eyes. There was a pause before the informant sighed softly.

"No, I don't want you to get sick.. You're already so over dramatic that caring for you would be torture." Kasuka just beamed anyway, moving closer and picking up his boyfriend, carrying him up the stairs himself and heading down the hall to Izaya's bedroom. "Hey!" the informant protested, blushing deeply.

"I promise we won't do anything indecent, Namie!" Kasuka called down to her before they went inside.

"I don't care if you do, just get that stick out of his ass already! I'd rather have him be a dick than a zombie." the assistant called back up to him, making him smile wider before shutting them both inside. Izaya was still blushing from being picked up but didn't protest at all when Kasuka started giving him more kisses, backing up with him until they were laying on the man's bed comfortably.

Kasuka was hovering over his boyfriend's body and remapping it with his hands after what felt like an eternity apart already. The informant gave back to him in return by trailing his lips over his jaw, neck, chest; after a couple teasing moments he went from kissing him to biting, something they'd found out the actor enjoyed almost too much in one of their late nights. Every touch that went between them was cherished and when they finally pulled apart just to stare at each other while they caught their breath, Kasuka couldn't help noticing that Izaya was holding onto him just a little too tight, his eyes pleading.

"I missed you so much.." Kasuka said first, reading it in his lover's gaze and not being one to force it out of him. The informant beneath him just gave a sigh of relief where he was before their kissing continued, this time starting out fast and sloppy only to slow down the longer they stayed close. They kissed with passion but knew it wasn't physical, neither putting in too much strength into what they were doing now and keeping it light, pulling apart more frequently to watch their partner's eyes than before.

"I missed you too..." Izaya finally said, once their kissing had slowed down to pecks and the two were cuddling more than mock fucking each other in their haste to be together again. "I thought you would be mad at me.."

"Of course I'm not mad at you." Kasuka muttered back, heart breaking for a second at seeing Izaya so honest about his fear. The informant looked away from him at first but was soon forced to look at him again, Kasuka holding his cheek lightly. "I'll never be mad at you for doing your job. I have no right to tell you to walk away from something so dangerous either.." the actor assured him, watching a look of shock form into one of understanding.

The room was quiet for a moment as Kasuka kept talking, filling the gap that was Izaya not knowing how to respond. "I thought about what you said. Ya know, about breathing.. How long have you been doing this job?" the actor wondered aloud, watching his lover's gaze as it went back up to meet his again.

"I started it the year I met you.. A little before I met Shizuo, I think." Kasuka's eyes widened. He processed that for a second, thinking that it was surely illegal for someone to work at such a young age before suddenly scolding himself.  _Obviously it being illegal wouldn't stop them, that's the whole point.. But there's no reason to drag someone so young into this kind of thing. Even if he hadn't been so young, you shouldn't trap a person into this._

But things made a little more sense to him now. Kasuka didn't enjoy Izaya's line of work, as much as he usually enjoyed watching him succeed at it, and that had blocked him from seeing a reason as to why Izaya was in this job at all. Sure, he hadn't been the most officially sane person when they met and he wasn't very normal either, but who was that he knew? That could qualify as almost anyone Kasuka held an affection for. But knowing that this was most likely, if not definetly, the only way of life that Izaya had known for such a long time.. Well, Kasuka could see how narrow his lover's options were now.

Now Kasuka was at a loss for words, Izaya running his fingers through the ravenett's hair to pass time. "You don't need to look so upset for me. I've been used to my job for a while now." Izaya tried to reassure him, just ending up making him frown more.

"This isn't a job you get used to.." the actor muttered, looking away as he rested his head on top of Izaya's chest, laying on top of him more loosely now. There was a pause before the actor sighed softly.  _I'm not being fair again._  "But, um.. You are good at your job. I'm sure that block you hit will go away soon." Kasuka comforted, looking up at him with a small smile now. And while his boyfriend didn't look the most relaxed anymore, he did look grateful.

"Thanks, Kasu-kun.. I think you were right about my brain being fried, I feel better already." Izaya announced, perking up a bit at the end as he tried to bring the mood back up again. Kasuka went with it, wanting their first night back together to be nice and special again. He didn't know what had compelled him in the first place to bring something like that up on such a special moment, probably just his natural nature to try and talk it out with the other instead of letting it hang between them, but he was glad that the hardest moment was over for now. They could revisit it when Izaya had a little more sleep, a little less work to do, and when Kasuka had a bit more of his heart in it as well.

For now, all they had to do was hold each other close again and relax. That, and tell Namie that she really could go home for the night, seeing as Kasuka had no intention of leaving Izaya's side again.


	71. Wake Me Up

_ [Izaya's POV] _

A tired informant slowly blinked open his eyes at the absence of a secondary ring on his alarm, being sure that he'd pushed it a couple minutes ago but feeling like it had been much too long to pass as five minutes. Then again, he could have dreamed that first one and it could be 3 in the morning again, he was known to do that on occasion..  _Eh, I still have to check._

With that, Izaya forced his eyes open, the ruby gems landing on his clock and processing the numbers on it for a minute before jumping up and out of his bed, only pausing because of a head rush.  _What the fuck, I'm over an hour late? Why didn't it go off!?_ the man screamed in his head, looking around for a moment to scan his room and see if there was anything he could quickly throw on. All he got to meet his eyes was Kasuka's jacket on the floor and the man's cellphone sitting on the bedside table making him groan.  _Great, I made us both late! Wait.. where is he?_

Izaya took another look around to see no sign of his boyfriend, along with no signs of him in the bathroom at the moment.  _I know he wouldn't leave me here to be late on my own... Wait, who's downstairs?_

The informant groaned in his head again at still being half-asleep, his mind taking a lot longer than needed to process what was going on.  _Glad no one's tried to kill me yet, I might not stand a chance... Oh yeah, talking._ He focused once more and just cracked open his door enough to make the voices decipherable, sighing relief when it seemed to just be Namie.  _She must be talking with Kasuka._

He left the door and went over to get properly dressed, deciding that if him and Kasuka were already so late with no calls being made to him asking why then everything must be handled already. The ravenett threw on a red t-shirt, not feeling like wearing his tight sweater today, and his usual black jeans before heading downstairs, rubbing his eyes lightly as he noticed that things were still blurry. Probably from his rush to get up earlier. There are reasons why he likes to be punctual, after all.

When he finally caught sight of his assistant and boyfriend he rolled his eyes, watching them exchange pleasantries with each other casually as they waited for him. Kasuka had a coffee in his hand and he noticed Namie had tea in hers, making him wonder where she even got it from since he didn't keep tea in his house, but he pushed passed that fact and knocked on the railing as he got to the bottom, announcing his presence. "How long have you guys been down here?"

Kasuka looked up at him first and let out a smile. "About half an hour. She crashed on the couch last night." the actor reported, getting a look from the one on the stairs and a nod of confirmation from the woman in the room.

"Why the heck did you do that?"

"You were making me work later hours and I was already dead tired by the time Heiwajima showed up. I didn't wanna bother with the subway."

The informant just gave a shrug at that, having heard many times of her plights using the train and subways systems around here. Honestly, she had about the single worst luck of anyone he knew with them and it was laugh-worthy. A stolen wallet, spilling her purse on the way out, forgetting her cellphone on one of the seats, general perverts seeming to have a magnet for her. It was one of the few things he felt pity over her for.

He went over and dropped onto the couch beside his lover as Namie got up and went off to do something, he wasn't paying much attention to her at this point. "So what about work?" Izaya mumbled quietly once she was out of ear-shot. Of all the people that he didn't want to find out about his cross-dressing, his own assistant was definetly number one on the list by a long shot. If she heard about it then he would never live it down. She would make fun of him for it, tease him with it, use it as a kind of blackmail, even get raises with it - or possibly worse, she could be one of those people completely on board with it to the point of trying to give him a make-over whenever they had a lapse in actual work. He almost shuddered at the last thought.

"The set is having maintenance done. We're off for the day." his boyfriend reported, getting a smile and nod back as Izaya leaned his head on the ravenett's shoulder and watched idly as Namie came back with a cup of coffee for him as well. The informant almost wanted to make a comment about her giving Kasuka one first out of hospitality he didn't know she had but decided against it, since she most likely had a whole pot still in the kitchen ready to pour on him. He gave a small hum of thanks before sipping it, glad to officially wake up that morning.

"Well, even if you don't have work today, I do." Izaya finally said after a bit more chatter between the three of them, Namie being surprisingly pleasant when she wanted to be despite the occasional bickering they exchanged when Izaya corrected her on something. The informant gestured towards his computer with a small sigh and Kasuka frowned, just keeping a hold of his waist like he had been since they sat together. When Izaya tried to sit up, the arm tightened more, keeping him firmly in his seat. "Kasu-"

"You can work today as long as you agree that I can take you out on a date for lunch. We go outside, get some fresh air, find something to eat together, all of it. You've been inside too long." the actor prompted, face completely serious as Izaya raised a brow at him.

"Kasuka.."  _As much as I really want to.._  "I don't have time for all that, at least not today." the informant tried to persuade, knowing that if he kept putting off this one particular assignment that he could get in trouble again before the three weeks were even up. His boyfriend, however, didn't let up.

"I'll try to make it quick then, you just have to go out with me today. Just once and I'll let you finish this assignment before coming over again." Izaya stared at the other ravenett for a long moment before he glanced at Namie, seeing an expectant look on her face as well as she casually sipped her tea, looking like one of those people who constantly watched talk shows and have just gotten used to the drama by now.  _Of course no one's on my side... Well, technically._

"Okay, we'll go out today, I promise. Now can I at least get started before it's frickin' noon?" the informant huffed, getting a grin in return before Kasuka's arm finally released him.

"Of course you can, darling~" Kasuka teased lightly from behind him, causing a light blush to spread on Izaya's cheeks before he picked up the least lethal thing on his desk and chucked it at him, the crumpled paper hitting his boyfriend's head harmlessly. His boyfriend just laughed before examining the paper thrown at him once he realized there was markings on it, seeing a field of flowers carefully scribbled there. "Iza-chan, did you draw these?"

"Draw what..? Shit." Izaya smacked himself in the forehead immediately as he recognized the long forgotten medium of boredom relief he'd cast away who-knows how long ago. N _othing's gonna be perfect today, is it?_

"Hey, didn't your sisters draw something like this?" Namie questioned.

_Nope, nothing at all.._


	72. Take Me Out

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

_Man I missed this~_ Kasuka mused to himself, the hand currently intertwined with Izaya tightening a little bit as they walked down the street. It was currently around 1:30, Kasuka giving his lover an extra hour to work before they left since he had let him sleep in unlike what his boyfriend asked. Now they were currently wandering down a busy street, an unusual empty busy street because it was Monday while people were in school or work but still generally busy, and they were scouting around for a new place to try. They both usually tried to stay within their comfort zone, like Russia Sushi or the ramen shop they had begun frequenting, but stretching their reach a bit seemed like a lot of fun when this was their first date together in over a couple weeks.

The informant beside him let out a content sigh as he drew closer, now hugging his arm despite the looks they got and relaxing his head on Kasuka's shoulder as they walked. It had gotten progressively easier for them to ignore the homophobic people in the area, before they had almost never walked fully hand in hand or looked at each other with loving smiles while out in public because of all of the gazes feeling burning to them, but after all they'd been through together the two had reached the point that they couldn't care less.

On a few rare occasions they would see another gay couple walking around, looking uncomfortable until they spotted each other and the couple began to relax, giving them large smiles as they began to walk hand in hand as well. That always made their day, helping people without even trying. Izaya always seemed to light up a bit when it happened too, looking like a kid in a candy store for a good few hours afterwards.  _As bad as he used to be, it's shocking how much he likes seeing people happy.._

They finally reached a new place that looked good. It was an American styled restaurant but only with the fashion of the place; it still served common japanese food and desserts and all that but there were a few uncommon things on the menu like Root Beer, Cheesecake, things like that. "What is that even supposed to taste like?" Izaya wondered aloud, getting a shrug in response.

"I dunno but we can order one to share and see if we like it. Just pick something else to really eat." Kasuka offered, getting a nod in return before Izaya got bored just looking at his menu, reaching across the table and holding one of the actor's hands while he looked it over. Kasuka gave no complaints about it, just holding on as well until the server came and took their order, not looking up at them even once but not giving them a glare either when she noticed they were holding hands.  _Better than her telling us to leave, I guess._

Their food came quickly and they ate, both casing glances at their dessert and drink with confusion.

"You want the first bite?"

"No.. Do you?"

"Nope... At the same time then?"

"Alright."

They each got a forkful of cheesecake and counted to three before trying it, a few seconds of silence passing between them as their faces instantly fell.

"Why the hell did they even invent this!? It's way too sweet.." Izaya complained, hand covering his mouth as he talked to be polite and keep himself from spitting it out into a napkin. No matter how much he disliked food he had always made sure he swallowed what he ate for some reason.

Kasuka, on the other hand, had no problems getting rid of it without eating. Well, when not with Izaya.. For now he forced himself to swallow it with a shudder, coughing as it went down. "It feels like bad mash-potatoes..." he whined, taking a drink of his water to make it go away. His boyfriend just nodded in sad agreement before they both glanced at the bottle of Root Beer still on their table.

The dread that passed between them was so obvious that it ended up making them burst out into quiet laughter, the couple trying to hold it in as Kasuka waved over for their server to come back with a check. "We'll try it at home when we aren't already gonna vomit." the actor proposed, watching Izaya sigh with a small smile still on his face.

"Sure, whatever you want. But I thought you said you  _didn't_ want us to both get sick." the informant teased, getting a shrug in reply before they paid and grabbed the bottle, leaving for Izaya's home again and passing through the park on their way as a short cut. It was quiet between them for half of the journey but they were both smiling and enjoying themselves still.

"Hey, Kasu-kun?"

"Mm?"

"Thanks for forcing me out here today. I've been wanting to go on another date for a while now but.."

"But you needed someone to kick you into doing it?"

Izaya gave him a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I kinda did. Thanks." he murmured, getting a peck on the lips in return before they started walking at normal speed again, having slowed down to look around them before. Suddenly the informant let out an evil chuckle. "I wish we had ordered two slices of that cheesecake now. I could have given it to Namie once we got back and video taped it." Kasuka just shook his head.

"Why are you always so mean to Namie? That's a form of torture even you wouldn't go through with."

"Yeah, but Namie and me are like... Like those people that base a whole friendship on a prank war going on. And this war has been raging for a couple years now." the ravenett replied, finally working out what he wanted to say before looking over at the actor. Kasuka was about to reply again when Izaya suddenly stopped, looking at him intensely now.

"What is it?"

"How tall are you?"

"What? Why does it matter?"

"Because we're equal at eye level now! You used to be shorter than me!"

"Awww, did you feel better being the bigger person~?"

"Actually, yes. Yes I did..."

"Well, I am still growing. Sorry you aren't anymore, old man."

"I'm 21, and will remain 21 for however long I please unlike you! Besides, show respect to your elders!"

"I'll respect my elder more when he isn't the one panting under me in bed~"

**"Kasuka!"**


	73. The Return of Blondie

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant sat at his desk straighter than before, hands working over his keyboard swiftly instead of dragging over all of the keys as he worked now and his eyes scanned the various documents and pictures in front of him attentively as he got closer to his goal of being done with this assignment by 1 in the morning. He was already on the fast track for it, now having a few pictures of reference for the area one of the missing accomplices was in and currently working on how to narrow it down to a single area.  _There's no document about him or his alias checking into a hotel and these are in a generally residential area, so he must have found someone to hide with. I'll have to go back to his connections then.._

Izaya, for once, didn't let out a sigh as he backtracked through the various things he could find out about the people who had tried to run off. On the contrary, he hadn't been in a bad mood almost all day, the only time he'd really frowned being when Kasuka had left to keep his half of the promise, letting Izaya work to his heart's content until he was done with what he needed to do.  _I probably wouldn't have been able to get this far this quickly in the first place without him forcing me outside, too. I'll have to thank him somehow._ he thought to himself as he kept tapping away on his desk, reading over old emails that the man had probably forgotten about now, trying to pinpoint a good friend or acquaintance that was still alive to help them.

After another hour of silent progress, the only sound interrupting him being his assistant who came back from her own lunch a little late, there was a knock on his door. Namie stood to get it but Izaya beat her to it, walking to the door on his own whim now that he saw what the benefits of getting off his ass once in a while did. He looked through the peep-hole first before raising a brow.  _Wow, he almost never visits._

Izaya opened the door to reveal his old friend, Shinnosu. "Hey, Shin. It's been a while." he greeted, not knowing what could cause a visit like this. Nothing really good happened in their line of business for him to come say something, if someone needed to be said he could email it to him anyways, and anything bad that happened was usually also warned about by email or gave to him subconsciously by there being men to trail him everywhere. Either way, he was glad to see the blond again.

Said blond threw him a small smile and greeted him back. "Can I come in?" the specialized grunt asked, getting the door open wider as a response.

"Of course. Was there a reason for this visit or are you looking for someone to crash for the night?" the informant teased his new guest, knowing that it wasn't uncommon for the blond to simply not want anything to do with his work dorm for a while and come find someone who lived outside to bug. He remembered that when he was just out of having to live in his office that Shinnosu would come pick him to bug very often, his excuse, or maybe real reason, for always picking him being that he had to make sure Izaya was adjusting well to the outside world again. Which was usually followed by the ravenett rolling his eyes and saying he had been out of his office a lot within that time and knew perfectly well how to handle himself, but never followed by the ravenett throwing him out for the night either.

The blond glanced at Namie and gave her a small wave, being more of a polite person than a people person, and turned back to him. "Uhm.. Kinda both?" Shinnosu replied awkwardly, reaching for his pocket casually as Izaya gave him a questioning glance. The informant flicked his friend's hand before it could reach the pack of cigarettes there and the blond sighed, going back to explaining his presence. "I came over here because Shiki was sayin' some things. I mean, they weren't too bad he was just gripin' because you were taking a while on your assignment I guess, but he looked pretty ticked about it.. I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to working with that guy, so I thought I could come see what I could do to help you finish up."

Izaya let out a hum as he thought that over, frowning at the prospect of Shiki planning something against him already.  _He's right. Getting some help now even though I probably won't be late is a lot better than stepping on my boss' toes._ He looked back up at his companion and nodded with a small grin. "Thanks for the help then, Shin. I have a couple assignments I need to do that aren't even started on yet so you can take your pick of which one seems the most your style." the informant invited, taking him over to his computer and pulling up the file that had what he was supposed to do within.. A little more than a week and a half.

Shinnosu scanned over them with interest, Izaya casually continuing on with what he'd been doing before until he glanced over at him again and saw the most confused expression he'd ever seen on his friends face. "Is there a problem?"

"Why does he give you the most cryptic assignments in the fuckin' world!? I don't even know what the first one is asking you to do!" the blond announced, looking at him expectantly for an explanation of what was in front of him. Izaya almost wanted to laugh at how confused he was about a simple breakdown of the sentence but kept it to himself, knowing he himself was just more used to it than the other. Shinnosu would just get direct orders face to face with someone a lot more commonly than having a whole mainframe that could be tracking what he said on his tail, making them speak in code, so he gave him a break for now.

"The first one is asking me to help track down a few members of a gang located between Nishitokyo and Asaka that's been using a weird drug to catch people and get ransoms. With how much practice they've been getting with it in the last couple months they're moving onto more well-known targets and causing a problem. The next one is asking me to find out where the least police-protected area is that they could use for some project they won't tell me about, along with specifically identifying which of the police that  _are_ in the area is the one that keeps trying to contact us and supposedly help. We have no idea if we can trust this guy, so I'm to investigate him first." Izaya listed off casually, glancing at his companion as he spoke from time to time to see if he was still with him. So far he seemed to be keeping track just fine but after just the second on the list, he stopped him, one hand holding his head like it hurt.

"Alright, I get the idea. Damn, you have a lot of important shit to do..." Shinnosu announced quietly, carding his fingers through his hair as he glanced at the list itself again. "I'll see what I can do for you with the first assignment. It seems more up my alley.. You still have my phone number, right? I think it would be a lot faster to text you stuff than email while I'm all the way out there." the grunt asked.

"Yeah, of course. Again, thanks for this Shin, it'll go a lot faster with you here. Namie's help but she can't do anything besides paperwork." Izaya announced, 'fist-bumping' with Shinnosu when prompted after getting a ticked off look from his assistant.

"I could too help you, you just never ask! Besides, it's not in my job description to bother with drugs and things like that." the ravenette huffed in her seat, glancing away from them at the end which just got confused looks cast at her. They ignored her quickly and went back to talking.

"Anyways, you said it was both earlier right? You can stay here for a night before doing anything; my fridge is open though there isn't a lot of Kobe in there at the moment."

"Aww, but you always bought the best stuff! Man.. I'll just get a ramen cup then, thanks man."

"No problems."


	74. Finally, Some Lovin'

_ [Izaya's POV] _

Izaya grabbed his phone without a second glance as noon the next day rolled around and it began beeping, flipping it open to see that Shinnosu had made it safely to Nishitokyo and was already going out to see what he could find out about the gang in the area. Despite there being an outbreak in their activity no one had seemed to pin a name or color onto them yet, the group almost moving independently of it's own members and just having a connection of ransom style and method. So, Shin was doing him the extra favor of finding out their calling cards while he was there to drag around members.

He sent a quick message back to thank him and wish him well before continuing on with his own work, having moved on last night from his former assignment, finally getting it done with a great big smile might he add, and beginning to hum to himself since he was alone.

Namie had told him something or other about her brother being sick and that she had to go take care of him, which was probably a lie, at least about the needing care part. Izaya had met her brother only once but he could tell that a little cold wouldn't be able to keep him down, at least not for long and not too roughly that he couldn't push through a day or two alone in bed.

But he'd let her go, seeing as he only had easy assignments until the end of his week and a half was up and didn't need much of her assistance with Shinnosu offering his instead. So now he was alone, enjoying the silence for a moment as his typing stopped, examining a file he'd found on one of the men he was investigating for Shiki.  _Man this guy is boring.. Straight C's, no love life to speak of, crappy pictures of him and his friends wearing... Cosplay? Looks too weird, even for an anime.._

The informant clicked away from the pictures with a small noise of disgust before continuing his song. Just when he was about to get up and make himself lunch there was a knock on his door, the ravenett hesitating before he smiled. They had both been let off of work another day because, while there to fix something, the handymen that had come over for maintenance on their stage had somehow managed to break a different part of it in the process. He trotted over to open the door and soon arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, squeezing the life out of him as Kasuka pushed them both further into the apartment again and closed the door with his foot, giving Izaya a kiss before loosening his hold finally. "You really finished it?" was the first thing the other ravenett asked, smiling as Izaya nodded.

"Yup, thanks to you and your knowledge of how I screw myself over." the informant huffed, laughing at himself lightly from the admission. He knew very well at this point that Kasuka kept a better on him than he did himself a lot of the time, just making him an even better boyfriend. Kasuka just shrugged before moving back in for another kiss.

"Sooo, I can stay here with you now? You won't throw me out if I talk while you read?" the actor prompted, eyes practically sparkling as he waited for the nod. Izaya almost wanted to tease him and say 'no, actually I like the peace and quiet' but he couldn't bring himself to do it when Kasuka was showing him one step down from puppy eyes. Izaya gave him a peck on the nose before pulling away from him.

"Of course you can, and no I won't. But I was just about to make lunch so.."

"No worries." Kasuka announced, grinning now as he picked up a bag from the floor.  _Did he bring that in with him? Must not have noticed._  "I brought you ōtoro~" the actor announced, watching Izaya shake his head lightly before taking the bag from him.

"Hope you brought something for yourself too then, because this is all mine."

"Yeah right, we both know you're going to share."

The rest of their day consisted of Izaya sitting in Kasuka's lap, who wouldn't move from his desk chair, and them feeding each other sushi whenever they felt peckish; Izaya using these small chances to take a break from his work. Every once in a while Shinnosu would send him a text with some information, a picture of the area or of a person he found suspicious, along with some normal texts between them when things were seeming slow. At one point Izaya almost didn't notice that he'd started texting his friend a bit more than he was working and stared down at his cellphone as they were talking, finally a comment coming up that struck him as odd from the other after the blond said he was going to bed.  **[Stay safe, dude. Night!]**

Izaya ignored it and wished him a good night back before putting away his phone, seeing as it had no purpose now. "Are you finally gonna work some more?" Kasuka asked casually underneath him, eyes half-closed as he had his head resting on the informant's shoulder. The ravenett just glanced back at him with a small grin.

"Why? Are you jealous that he had my attention?"

"Of course not."

"Mhm. Whatever makes you feel better."


	75. Fan-girls Prepare, The War is Nigh!

_[Kasuka's POV]_

The actor sat back with a sigh of content as he picked up a book from his bedside table, careful to hold it away from himself as he shifted to lay down, not wanting his hair to drip water on it. He'd just gotten out of the shower after a long day of recording, it being a few days after the stage had been fixed, and was more than ready to relax with some reading before going to sleep early, lazy days were usually his favorite after all.

Kasuka had just gotten half a page done before his phone caught his attention, it buzzing quietly on the sheets beside him before he picked it up. It was his boyfriend.

**[Hey Kasu-kun. What are you up to?]**

**[I'm reading.]**

**[Are you reading filth again?]**

Kasuka blushed at the comment, glancing at his book and not seeing anything suggestive in the text.

**[No, I am not. And it's not filth! It's literature that happens to be mature.]**

**[Alright, but people usually don't jack off to coincidental literature.]**

**[I don't do that!]**

"Brat.." the actor muttered to himself, grinning slightly as he continued to message the man between paragraphs. He'd already gotten use to Izaya's 'opinion' on what he read, the man always saying that it's weird to read that kind of stuff, at least when you already have someone to actively perform with. Despite saying that, though, Kasuka had come back up to his room on more than one occasion where Izaya had picked up one of said books and had been reading it with no problems, even falling asleep with the book in his hand once while opened to a very.. descriptive page.

The two of them continued to tease each other about their interests until it was late with few pauses in between. The only real pauses there had been were when Izaya would suddenly stop replying for 10 minutes, worrying the reading ravenett before he got used to it and simply waited. After another couple hours of texting, the time now being later than Kasuka had planned to stay up, the actor found himself sending half-sense texts to the other by the time he realized he should probably be asleep by now to not embarrass himself further.  **[Im gonna gwt some slep. Luv u.]**

**[Aww.. Fine. Goodnight :!]**

Kasuka grinned a little bit at the emoticon at the end, having been the one to put Izaya in the habit of texting them, before sending a heart back to the man. When it was sent he finally tried to get some sleep. He was disrupted first by thoughts of his boyfriend, wondering what they could do for yet another date together now that Izaya had a little more time, before really falling into sleep.

* * *

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant sent his last text to Kasuka for the day, setting his phone down on the desk beside him before he stretched, waiting patiently in front of his computer for his friend to come see him now. It was late, going on 11 pm, but he the man had no problems waiting up for Shinnosu since he had gone to the trouble of helping him with information for almost nothing in return. Minutes slowly ticked by to him as he browsed the internet, not bothering with chatrooms at the moment despite how busy a few of them were, and just kept scrolling until there was finally a knock on his door.

Izaya stood and answered it with a smile before giving another hesitant 'fist-bump' to his friend in greeting. The informant was still not used to giving them, let alone being prompted for one, so he was always a little too slow with it for them to look cool either. Shinnosu didn't seem to mind though. "Well, I'm back in one piece! The four guys I told you about are already back at headquarters to be used too, so there's no baggage to keep me from crashin' your place again." the blond announced as he was let inside the informant's home.

"That's nice, though you didn't really ask. Again." Izaya noted, glancing up to see a look of worry and surprise crash over his friends face before he let out his own devious smile. The informant didn't let this smile fade when he saw a bit of guilt in his friend's expression. "I don't mind, it's not like I can't be used to it by now.. But why do you wanna stay over so suddenly?"

"No reason. I was just hoping you had some Kobe in your fridge by now." Shinnosu replied, smiling a bit too wide as he waited for Izaya to confirm or refuse his point.

"Sorry, no beef still. But seriously, what are you keeping tabs on me for?" the host tried again, smile a bit smaller now as he too waited for an answer. He watched intently as Shinnosu shuffled, acting like he was just turning to face him more.

"I'm not keeping tabs on anyone! It's just really late already and I don't wanna go home." There was a pause. "Seriously!"

Izaya finally let his smile drop and a frown take over as he crossed his arms in front of him, not enjoying that his friend would continue to lie even after being found out. The informant wouldn't particularly like him lying even  _without_ being found out, but still.. When you're caught, you're caught, especially with Ikebukuro's most dangerous man.

"Shinnosu, I've let you into my house. Are you really going to try and keep what it is to yourself?"

A silence passed between them, Shinnosu's fake demeanor going away but not his persistence. "It's nothing for you to worry about, everything's fine."

"If everything was fine, then you wouldn't be worried about my being." Izaya scoffed, now realizing that whatever he was worried about had been going on most likely since before he'd left. Almost every time they had ended a conversation, Shinnosu had ended it with something about him taking care of himself, Izaya passing it off before as just a friendly gesture between his long time pal. Now though, he was curious and demanded to know what involved him without his knowledge.

"I.. It's nothing that concerns you  _now,_  everything's alright, it probably won't happen.."

"Shin,  **what**  won't happen? Does it have to do with Shiki again?" The guilty look that was thrown at him gave him the loudest 'yes' he'd ever witnessed. "Then, what did he say?" the informant prompted softly, tired now from the sudden stress put on him after such a wonderful day. The blond looked up at him once more, this time not glancing away.

"Well, he said.. he said he wouldn't be stupid enough to use me a second time." Shinnosu sighed, hand running through his hair nervously as Izaya looked to him with confusion. He explained in a mutter, "Next time it happens, you might not make a friend."

Izaya was sure he was going to be sick.


	76. Explain Yourself

_[Izaya's POV]_

"Shin, why didn't you say something sooner? Why did you just leave me alone if you were worried!?" Izaya demanded, stress building quickly as he began to pace his living room in front of the blond.

"I-I didn't see any good in telling you about something that might definitely not happen! When I came you were finishing up with the problem and I was helping you get done even quicker so, ya know, crisis avoided!" Shinnosu exclaimed, stuttering now as he was put under pressure. The blond had never done well under it vocally, though he was a great man of action when put under it instead.

The informant just turned to him with a glare, trying his best to not be so harsh as he spoke. "It doesn't matter if the crisis is avoided  _for now_  or not. What if you never warned me and next week when I get more assignments something happens? Or if I get a single error into my work and get.. g-get  **that** done to me without a single clue!? Do you think that would be fair to me!?"

"Of course not! Look, I'm sorry. I-I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought-"

"You think a lot of things! And then a lot of the time you don't think at all!" Izaya cut him off, turning away again before he tried to compose himself, walking until he could press his forehead against the wall. He dug his nails into the closest thing he could grab, for the moment it being his own arm, as he tried to put together just how close he could have been to getting a punishment if not for his sudden breakthrough with work.  _Knowing Shiki I would have only had a couple more days… I probably would have been called up tomorrow for a "meeting" and gone and…_

The informant paused his thinking when there was suddenly a hand on his shoulder, the hand pulling him away from the wall and turning him around to face his usually cheerful co-worker. "Izaya, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I-I guess I should have, I didn't think about it still being a threat after this, I-I didn't think hard enough.." Shin admitted, getting a nod out of him before he looked down again, the informant not knowing what to do and just accepting it when Shinnosu pulled him in for a hug.

"B-But things are still gonna be okay, okay? You're done with almost everything by now and still have plenty of time to finish this last assignment, and if you need any help at all with future assignments you have me around.. And you have Kasuka! I'm sure he'd love to help you any way he can, I could tell when I met him!" the blond continued, trying his best to get his friend to smile again, or at least to relax a little.

The mention of his boyfriend made him brighten up a bit before the informant sighed softly, covering his face with a hand as he tried to push away a headache and the twinge forming in his stomach.  _Kasuka… If something like that had happened, how could I ever look at him again? He's the only one I've ever done anything serious with, I want to keep it that way but if Shiki decided to go through with his threat then.. I don't even want to think of how filthy I'd be. Even if Kasu-kun didn't hate me, I'd hate myself enough for the both of us…_

"Izaya!" Shinnosu pressed, having been calling his name for the last couple minutes with no result. The blond paused for a second before shifting to hold Izaya's wrist, noticing the now bleeding marks on his arm where the informant's nails had been pressing. "Everything's fine now.. Okay? Do you want me to call him?" the blond asked softly, waiting patiently until there was a nod before he glanced around quickly, spotting a cell-phone and picking it up. "You have his number on this one?" Another nod was given, and soon Shin was on the phone with Izaya's lover, not explaining anything and instead just saying that Izaya wanted to hang out with him and was currently taking a shower.

After what felt like much too long, Shinnosu was hanging up the phone and gingerly handing it to the ravenett. "He's on his way.. Are you going to tell him about work?" Izaya paused for a moment, not sure what to do at the moment.

_Well.. Like Shin said, there's no immediate threat at the moment, we handled it… But if something happens eventually and he finds out and_ _**then** _ _finds out that I already knew it could happen and didn't tell him.. Along with heart broken he'd be so upset, maybe even disappointed… If I don't tell him, he might blame me later._

The informant gulped at the last thought, his mind quickly going back to the fact that it might not happen.  _No, it definitely won't happen. I won't let it happen.. I don't need to tell him, at least not yet._

"I dunno, Shin. I might…. Just give me a little while to think, kay?" Izaya finally got out, receiving a nod back and there being another awkward silence between them before the blond spoke up.

"Um.. I told him you'd been in the shower. Do you normally blow dry your hair?"

"No, I don't."

"Then you should probably hop in really quick unless you want him to be suspicious.. And you should definetly wash your arm while you're in there, it'll help."

"Right.. Thanks Shin. You can stay and hang out for a while too, if you want. I know Kasuka's been wanting to see you again." Izaya muttered, giving his friend a forced smile before heading up the stairs and into his room, intent on figuring out the best way there was for him to warn Kasuka without getting too much of a backlash thrown at him for it.


	77. Calm Down, Love

_[Kasuka's POV]_

"Yeah, I'll be right over. No problem." the actor replied quietly, thanking Shinnosu for calling him before worriedly hanging up. He hadn't let it into his voice before, since Shinnosu was acting like there was nothing to worry about, but Kasuka knew better. No one touched his boyfriend's phones without explicit permission and not without a reason, even if Izaya was in the bathroom. If he had been then he knew the ravenett would have had no problems doing it before he went in or waiting until he was out.

_Shinnosu seemed genuinely calm though, at least in his voice. Maybe I'm just being paranoid… It wouldn't be the first time._ Kasuka noted to himself, shuffling along to his door after he'd slipped on some pants and shoes, having been in the middle of yoga when he was called. But then his mind, his admittedly over paranoid mind at the moment, went right to the last time he'd had a panic attack due to his own paranoia. Which had led him to accidentally saving his boyfriend from his own brother, a boyfriend he might not have now if he hadn't listened to his gut.  _Fuck it, if Shizuo can listen to his instincts 24/7 then so can I._

The actor made his journey to Izaya's apartment quick, not wanting to be late if it was as serious as last time, and made it there by foot in record time before knocking on the informant's door. It swung open to reveal Izaya's smiling face. It calmed him down instantly, most of the anxiety he'd began to feel half way there melting away again, though with still a twinge left. "Hey, you wanted to hang out?"

"Yeah, so did Shinnosu. Thanks for coming, Kasu-kun." his boyfriend greeted back, stepping closer to him and cupping his cheeks before leaning in for a kiss. Kasuka complied easily and pressed back, letting the kiss continue on for longer than he'd expected without any protests as well. They finally separated when Shinnosu finally made his presence known, obviously being a patient one since there was no doubt that they'd been at it for at least 10 minutes by now.

Izaya stepped away from him and escorted him inside instead of making him continue to stand in the hall, dropping down onto the couch when Kasuka and Shin sat next to each other. The actor glanced at his lover and wrapped an arm around his waist before doing anything else, getting a small smile in return that made him worry again.  _You usually blush when there are people around._  he mentally told the other, though knowing he wouldn't get the message he just tried to keep himself calm and looked at Shinnosu, giving a small smile because of the familiarity this person still held to his brother. "So how have you been since last time? Staying out of trouble?"

The blond just grinned a bit and shook his head. "Depends. Is me working at all trouble to you?" Shin asked back, seeming to know that Kasuka knew about his work. The actor just shrugged.

"Depends. How dirty do your hands get?"

"I wear gloves."

Kasuka rolled his eyes at that, thinking he should leave this part of the conversation at that so he didn't pry too much. Even if Shin was cool with him and his boyfriend there was always a possibility of him feeling the need to inform his boss; he was sure that anyone in any gang was obligated to at least that.

The ravenett's attention was soon caught by Izaya again, the informant leaning his head on Kasuka's shoulder lightly as he listened to their banter. He seemed to be content there in silence, unlike how he usually was demanding to have Kasuka's full attention, but he had a distant look too, making Kasuka shift him lightly.

"Hey, you alright?" he muttered, getting a small sound in response.

"I just have a small headache. My eyes are finally re-adjusting to something other than computer light." the informant chuckled, giving him a genuine smile this time. Kasuka tried to give him one back.

"Alright. If you wanna lay down or anything just let me know." the ravenett offered, pressing a kiss to Izaya's forehead and temple before going back to him and Shinnosu's conversation. The two finally decided that they should do something more interesting than make jokes about each other and they put in a game, one that Kasuka had boughten Izaya just a couple days ago because he thought he might like it. He had no idea if he would, seeing as the only game he'd so far enjoyed was Zelda and he'd boughten him a Mario Bros game, but it was worth a shot.

Kasuka shifted his boyfriend to get his attention again before offering him a controller and smiling to himself as the informant worked out what controls did what on his own, having skipped the tutorial on accident due to hyper clicking; Shinnosu seemed just fine without it though. The two kept playing until they beat a world together and then whoever got the least points would switch off, all of them having a pretty nice time together for a few hours.

The actor couldn't help noticing that besides the comments he made while playing, and dying while playing, the informant hadn't said much so far but he could see that the other was distracted about something so he let it slide.  _I'll ask him once Shinnosu is gone._  Kasuka decided, giving the blond a high-five as he once again won the little competition. So far Shin had only lost one time while Kasuka and Izaya had switched off at least 4 times already, but none of them commented on it.

After another couple rounds Shinnosu's phone went off and he answered it, there being a pretty one sided conversation going on before the blond sighed and agreed with whoever was on the other line. "Sorry guys, I gotta head out. This was awesome, hope we can do it again." he explained, getting a nod from Kasuka and a hug from the actor's boyfriend, Kasuka trying his best not to mind. Shinnosu let himself out and the couple cuddled closer now that they were on their lonesome, Kasuka almost deciding to not ask about earlier now that they were so comfortable.  _No.. I should still ask, something might be up._

"Hey, Iza-chan. I know you said you have a headache but, are you really okay? Even for a headache, you were really quiet today." Kasuka commented slowly, not wanting sound accusing. Izaya just looked at him for a second, smiling lightly before nudging him to lay down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now that I'm pretty much done with assignments all the extra energy I had went away. Thanks for asking though." the informant replied, shifting to lay on top of him and relax now. The ravenett laid his head on Kasuka's chest and took a deep breath, eyes sliding closed before Kasuka could question him further.  _He does seem really, really tired... Everything's fine, I should stop worrying so much._ "Okay, I understand. Just get some sleep then.. I love you." Kasuka muttered, wrapping his arms around the other man.

Izaya let out a small hum before whispering it in return, eyes sliding closed again before Kasuka decided to join him.


	78. Suspicious Behavior

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

Hands wandered his chest as the two of them laid back, Izaya pressing down on him further for another kiss while Kasuka panted lightly, trying his best to stay focused so he would know if someone was coming to check on them. They were currently at work about three days after them and Shinnosu had hung out together, and for some reason since then, not that Kasuka was complaining, Izaya had been.. Well, needy.

If they were apart for a couple hours then Izaya would call him and ask to hang out, or just keep talking to him on the phone for as long as he could if coming over was impossible, and when they were together he would trail behind him like a lost puppy for most of the time. And it was all very sweet, it was, but this at the moment was a bit ridiculous.

Sure, he'd dreamed of being able to love his boyfriend anywhere they wanted at pretty much any time, but practically fucking in their dressing rooms was not one of the things he'd wished they could do. He was a man of profound privacy, after all.

So, when Izaya finally pulled away to breath, now both of them panting as they tried to get some air back in their lungs, Kasuka held onto the informant's shoulders tightly to keep him where he was. "Izaya, we can't do this here." he muttered, trying to sound serious while still catching his breath. He expected the other to protest and keep pushing him for more kisses, hopefully not pushing for much more than that while they were still on work premises, but instead got a slightly hurt look along with a nod.

"Alright." Izaya said easily, leaning down again when released to lay on top of the actor, nuzzling into the crook of his neck comfortably while Kasuka was still blinking his surprise away. Almost any other time he'd asked the male to stop, Izaya would keep batting his eyes until Kasuka finally relented, not just stop and act like they were  _not_ about to dry fuck each other like a couple of horny high-schoolers. The actor had to consciously surpress a groan from his boyfriend's odd behavior.

"Iza-chan.. I know I've asked this about a million times by now, but are you  _sure_ you're alright? Nothing's happened?" Kasuka questioned once again, really wishing the other would just come out with it by now. He'd known since the first day of needy treatment that something was up; if Izaya had just wanted sex then he would have asked for it by now or made more obvious moves towards it, but so far it had been none of that and the only time they did get anything going was when Kasuka prompted for it.  _So if he's not just horny, then what the fuck is going on?_  he'd asked in his head more than one too many times.

And like most other times, Izaya just shook his head at him. "Nothing's wrong, Kasu-kun, I just want to be near you... That's fine, right?" the informant answered him, looking up at him with worry in his eyes; worry that Kasuka was beginning to think was fake. Almost every second time Kasuka asked him about his condition, the other had now gotten into the habit of guilting him away from the question, just like this.

And though he should be immune to that part by now, the look in the other's eyes still made him feel like  _he_ was being the unfair one. "Yeah, of course. I just worry about you." Kasuka sighed, getting a small smile and a kiss before Izaya was back to cuddling him tightly.  _This is so unnatural.._

* * *

_This.. is fucking... ridiculous..._

A few more days had passed and Kasuka was finally beginning to grow used to his new treatment, almost being able to really like it instead of the passive touches Izaya used to give him despite the sudden change in attitude. He enjoyed how his boyfriend originally treated him a lot more, but what could he do when Izaya was technically doing nothing wrong?

But him getting used to it just so happened to be at the same time as Izaya's original three weeks running out. Meaning, more assignments for Izaya. And like someone had flipped a switch, it was almost like Kasuka didn't exist to the other.

Kasuka would call him and he'd either be ignored or given an apology. He'd come over and be turned away with a guilty expression or be let in but be completely ignored by his lover, even when Izaya agreed to finally sit on his lap and allow him to press kisses on his neck. No reaction given except a blush...

And Kasuka had expected something like this; when Izaya got work he had to do it, no questions asked about that but... Really? He could go from shedding every speck of love he had onto him to giving him nothing but a single glance a day in about five seconds? That, Kasuka had not expected. And he was definetly not the happiest about it.

So, once again, here he stood in front of Izaya's door, hand ready to knock just when the actor had begun to hear voices on the other side of the door.

"Are you sure you should be treating him like this? I mean, he didn't do anything wrong.. Did he?"

"No, Shin, he didn't. Don't act like you're gonna kick his ass if he did either."

"I would, I totally would if he hurt you! I mean, I wouldn't use all my work skills on him, but I'd do it!"

"There's no need Shin, just leave him alone.."

_Okay, so Izaya has time for Shinnosu but not me.. Fine then..._

"Are you sure you shouldn't tell him though? I mean, you're dating him!"

"Yes, I'm dating him, and that means I shouldn't worry him about things that don't matter, right?"

"Um... I haven't been in a relationship, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't sound right.."

"Well, to me it seems pretty accurate. There's nothing to tell him that he can help me with, so he's not gonna know. Okay?"

"Okay..."

_No, not okay!_

Kasuka frowned deeply before taking a deep breath, wondering if he should interrupt them now or not. Izaya could get mad that he was listening to them; Shin might not care but it's better to not irritate him, being one of the few friends Kasuka had. Still, whatever was going on involved their work and knowing what had happened last time when it came to Izaya's work...

The actor ran a hand through his hair before he finally decided to knock, waiting patiently where he was as the two stopped talking instantly.  _I'm sorry Iza-chan, but I want answers. Now._


	79. Watch Out,, Seriously

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant and his best friend shut up instantly when there was a knock on the door, silent as they wondered who was there. The logical answer would be, of course, Kasuka, but they could still hope for it to be someone else. Literally anyone else..

_He probably heard us.._

Izaya stared at his door for a second while Shinnosu watched him, obviously waiting for his decision on what to do while Izaya tried to push away the building feeling of guilt. For the remaining time in his last set of assignments, he'd done everything in his power to try and make sure Kasuka knew he loved him just in case anything happened. Holding his hand at random times, giving him kisses, trying to cuddle with him at every turn and doing whatever he suggested - even if being fed by his boyfriend was still  _beyond_ embarrassing to him. He'd done it all to try and keep his boyfriend as happy as possible.

Sure, it hadn't been the most effective job and he could have been more smooth about it, but how was he supposed to think clearly with possible violation hanging over his head? Murder he could handle, he'd avoided it for years now with almost no slip-ups.. but rape?

Izaya swallowed his emotions just at the very thought. He couldn't stomach the idea of anyone even hugging him as tenderly as Kasuka did to him, let alone anything more than that without him wanting it, without him being cared for, without... Just anything that could make the very act humane in his eyes.

The informant had tried his best not to think about it during the last three days since he'd gotten another batch of assignments; assignments that, if he did them well and did them quickly, would keep him away from such a fate. And while he knew quite well that what he'd been doing by suddenly ignoring his lover wasn't right, he couldn't get over the numbing fear that came over when he thought that spending a little extra time away from an assignment or two would make them late. Therefore, making them deadly.

The ravenett took a deep breath as he looked up at Shin, deciding to answer it on his own instead of making the blond face his lover for him again. So, he stood up and went to the door, trying his best to calm his nerves as he opened it and came face to face with his boyfriend.  _Well, he doesn't look mad.._

"Hey Kasu-kun.."

"Izaya." the other ravenett replied, his face and voice both completely vacant of emotion as he looked passed the informant. The informant was very sure he'd just felt a physical slap to the face. "Shin, can you give us a moment alone?" he continued, somehow acting even colder to the blond than himself.

When there was no answer behind him, Izaya glanced back and nodded to him, letting him know silently that he should really leave. And despite looking like every muscle in him was protesting it, the blond did as he was asked, trudging passed them and out the door with a worried expression on his face, whatever reaction he'd had after that being blocked by the actor shutting a door on him.

Izaya was silent as Kasuka turned back to him, still emotionless as neither of them said anything.

"Well? I know you know that I heard you talking, so just tell me what this is about." Kasuka finally announced, letting Izaya finally take a deep breath. The statement wasn't relaxing of course, he almost could say that Kasuka sounded mad at him, but at least he'd been the first to say something.

"I-I uh-" Izaya inwardly cursed himself at his sudden nervousness, not knowing where all the stuttering had come from.  _I shouldn't be like this, none of this is my fault. If Kasuka gets mad at me then he's the one with the problem, right? Right..._ The informant took no comfort in his own thoughts, not looking Kasuka in the eye as he tried to think of what to say. "Okay, well.. I have no idea how to say this without you getting mad." Izaya finally admitted, for once getting a reaction out of Kasuka.

The actor's eyes softened as he watched his boyfriend, taking a step forward and finally removing a hand from his pocket to rest it on Izaya's shoulder. "I won't get mad at you. I already know you're not cheating on me, so nothing you say can make me hate you." Kasuka said slowly, like he needed to make extra sure that Izaya couldn't read into his words more than what he was saying.  _Cheating? Where did cheating come from?_  Then it hit him.  _Oh yeah. I suddenly ignored him and he found me talking to Shin.. Makes sense then._

For some reason, now having the distraction and comfort of knowing Kasuka  _wouldn't_  accuse him of that made him relax just a little more. Izaya took another deep breath as he nodded, looking up and meeting his the actor's eyes.

"I.. My boss..." Izaya said slowly, still completely unsure of where to begin with what he wanted to say. How did a person suddenly come out and say that their employer had threatened them with rape anyway? He'd never heard of anyone having  _that_ on a confessions list before so he would be a first. A very awkward, stuttering first.

Kasuka just held his gaze, not looking accusing or upset with all of the waiting. Izaya took another second to sort out his thoughts before it came to him.

"I never told you how I met Shin, did I?" the informant blurted out, it being the first thing that came to mind and it being the only lee-way he could see into this certain conversation. At least, the only lee-way he could manage into this conversation.

For a second Izaya thought Kasuka would accuse him of changing the subject too, but that never came. The actor just gave him a shake of the head after thinking about it. "No, you never did." he muttered, finally giving him a response as well.

"Okay, well.. Don't get super mad or anything because uh, yeah, Shin's a great guy! But um, me and Shin met when.. Well, when my boss k-kinda ordered someone to.. to violate me..." the informant finally whispered out, talking the slowest he ever had as he searched hard for any kind of wording that would make their meeting sound better. Obviously it hadn't been better enough, from the look on Kasuka's face.

"What!?"

"It didn't happen, though! Just hear me out!" Izaya pleaded, holding his hands up in defense. The palms of his hands were currently red from when he'd been squeezing them so tightly, using the dull pain to distract from the weight of the conversation. He really needed to keep better track of when he was exerting his stress.. Back to the topic.

It took another moment before Kasuka was calm enough to listen to him again, hands holding tightly onto his boyfriend's shoulders as he demanded to know where Shinnosu lived, ready to give him a peace of his mind. After being calmed again, Kasuka was silent once more, waiting patiently for him to continue.

"S-So like I said, um... my boss ordered for that to happen, and Shinnosu happened to be the closest worker to us at the time, so he got picked to do it. But when he took me away from Shiki, m-my boss, all we did was talk, h-he didn't do anything! He didn't even look at me wrong, I swear!" Izaya explained, going much faster now that he had gotten past the initial situation. Kasuka gave him a nod to continue, the hand on his shoulder now forcing itself to loosen up.

"And? What does that have to do with now?" the other ravenett prompted, golden eyes baring into him for an answer. For a second Izaya got distracted by just how menacing Kasuka could be if he ever felt like it, the ravenett currently having the same presence his brother usually emitted when attacked (or worse, when Izaya was nearby). "Nothing's happened, right?"

Izaya found himself twiddling his thumbs again as he tried to keep eye contact. "No! Nothing like that has happened, I'm fine! J-Just.. Shin let me know what he heard back at headquarters. And apparently, i-if I hadn't gotten that assignment I'd been stuck on finished when I did then... Then, Shiki would have probably ordered-"

The informant was cut off by arms wrapping around him and pulling him closer, the ravenett falling silent as he let himself take in the affection. It was relaxing to know that Kasuka wasn't upset with him, showing him support instead... That nice feeling went away when the arms around him continued to tighten, almost to the point of being painful. "K-Kasu-kun, I can't-"

"That fucker..." Kasuka growled out beside him, the informant shutting his mouth again instantly at the tone. The arms had finished tightening, probably being painful to the both of them by now and only barely letting Izaya breath in the embrace. His actor continued. "That fucking bastard thinks he could do something like to people just.. just  **because he feels like it...** "

Izaya could feel his boyfriend's heart pounding against his chest now, the close proximity allowing him to hear everything the other muttered to himself despite it being almost silent. "Kasuka-"

"Shut up."

_..What?_  The informant blinked in utter shock as he was released from the tight hold, taking the chance to breath again as he was dragged over to the couch and sat down. He watched Kasuka pull out his phone and turn away from him like he hadn't just said something completely and utterly out of character.

Never once had he snapped at Izaya so quickly and never in a million years would he have ever told Izaya to  _shut up_  like he just did.

So, without knowing what else to do, Izaya sat where he was silently and continued to watch in wonder as whoever Kasuka was calling finally answered, not getting much of an explanation either as Kasuka began talking. "Shizuo? I need you.."


	80. Be My Shield

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

_Shiki.._

"Wait, okay.. run this by me again..."

_That disgusting, evil..._

"I need your help keeping Izaya safe. And yes, I'm serious."

_Freak, good for nothing..._

"Kasuka, I think you forgot who you're talking about. I'm the last person that would help  **him**."

_Psychotic, worthless bastard..._

"I know exactly who I'm talking to and exactly who I'm talking about, and you're the only one that can help correctly."

_Fucking ungrateful waste of space..._

"Ototo... I'll be there in a minute, you can explain it to me then. Okay?"

_Should just_ _**go to hell...** _

"Fine. Goodbye, aniki."

_**And rot there.** _

"Um.. Kasu-kun?"

Kasuka almost threw his phone at being prompted again before spinning around to see his boyfriend, quiet and confused, watching him from a distance. The sight dispelled some of his anger in an instant, it taking him a minute to remember why Izaya was all the way over there while he'd been trying to help before he realized he'd pretty casually told his lover to sit down and shut up. The guilt that came with that realization was painful.

The actor glanced at his phone before pocketing it and walking over to the other, once again letting himself be emotionless since he didn't want to scare the person he cared about most. "I.. I'm really sorry about that, Iza-chan. I didn't mean it.. When I told you shut up I was just really angry..." he admitted, getting a nod out of the other.

When no words of forgiveness came to him he wrapped his arms around the other again, this time making sure he didn't hug too tightly as he let his head drop onto Izaya's shoulder. "I really am sorry, I won't do it again..." he muttered into the man's shirt, now feeling his love hug back a bit. Kasuka sat down beside him on the couch to pull him closer, almost into his lap.

"It's okay."

"It's not.."

"Well, you said it to me and I say it's okay, so it is. I was just surprised, that's all." Izaya replied, glancing down at him and running his fingers through the actor's hair lightly as they were quiet again. "That said, never tell me to shut up again, okay?"

Kasuka nodded dutifully, already busy berating himself in silence for what he'd done as he gave his partner a small squeeze before releasing him again. He paused and glanced back at the ravenett with a smile when a hand held his tightly, entwining their fingers as they both tried to relax. A couple minutes in silence passed.

"I've never seen you get so angry before.."

"What he's threatening you with is unforgivable. Him already trying to do it once kinda.. Kinda made me a little crazy. Sorry.."

"I already forgive you, you don't need to keep apologizing about it.. One thing though. Do you really think Shizu-chan is gonna help us?"

"Definitely."

Izaya cast him a glance at that, obviously not being as convinced as the actor was. "We're both still talking about the same guy that made a living out of throwing trash cans at me, right? And stop signs? And mail boxes?"

"Yes, the very same guy. But I'm his brother and so far he's always done pretty much anything I've asked him to.. I even got him in a bunny suit one time for Easter just because I asked him to wear it. He didn't even question it until we got to the party." Kasuka chuckled, smiling lightly as he tried to lighten the mood up again. It was more or less effective, Izaya giving him a smile back before things were quiet again, the both of them leaning on each other as they waited for the debt collector to show up.

He finally did and announced his presence with a loud bang on the door, making Kasuka get up to answer it. "Come in, aniki."

"Thanks ototo. Now, what the hell are you asking from me again?" Shizuo replied, getting straight to the point like always. Kasuka gestured for him to go sit next to them before thinking of how to word his request, seeing as the first time - in all of his bluntness and silent anger - it hadn't gotten the most willing reaction. Then again, Kasuka was nothing if not blunt.

"I need you to be Izaya's bodyguard for a while." Kasuka announced, now getting a skeptic look from the both of them. Izaya was silent as he grimaced, glancing away from the blond currently in his home like he'd already reached the limit in hospitality he had towards him. Said blond was now staring at him as he mouthed the request to himself, sitting up again after a second.

"You're serious?" A nod. "You want  **me** to spend hours of my time with  **him**..  **protecting** him.." Another nod. "Has he hit you in the head at all since you've gotten together?"

Kasuka rolled his eyes a bit. "No, he hasn't aniki. We just need your help."

Shizuo still didn't look too sure. "And just how long would I be stuck with him if I agreed?"

"That's the thing... We have no idea." Kasuka glanced away as he replied.

"Seriously!?" Shizuo finally burst out, looking at him like he'd just discovered a new level of confusion. "You don't even know how long I would have to be near him!? Why am I even protecting him!? If he's done something wrong let him get some karma for it!" the blond continued to rant.

"Aniki." Kasuka snapped softly, getting his brother's attention again quickly from the tone. The blond was silent for a moment before leaning back in his seat again.

"Just when would I have to protect him? All the time or just when he goes out to reek havoc?"

The couple glanced at each other finally as they pondered it.

"You think he would attack you in your home?" the actor asked quietly, getting a shrug in response.

"Nah. His style would be more like inviting me for tea and then surprising me with it..."

"What about if you were outside? Even if you were working then."

"Maybe... It's hard to say on that one. With so many people in my work someone could try to kidnap me even when not ordered to... Course, that could also be said for when I'm inside too now that I think about it."

"True.."

They both looked back at the blond who had been glaring holes into the informant's head the whole time that they had been discussing the terms. Kasuka opened his mouth to speak just before Izaya cut him off.

"I don't think this is a good idea." the ravenett finally announced, a frown on his face as they both looked at him in surprise. Shizuo spoke up first.

"Finally, he fuckin' agrees with me.." Shizuo grumbled from where he was, sharing a glare with Izaya before Kasuka got their attention.

"I know you two don't get along but-"

"Kasuka, we hate each other!"

"You don't get along. But, we've seen that you can get along when I ask you to, so can you please just keep it up for a while until this goes away or until the problem is fixed?"

Izaya turned his head to gape at him.

"We don't even know if it  ** _can_**  be fixed, Kasu-kun!"

"If it starts to take too long then we can find someone else to be your bodyguard, but for right now, aniki is the best option. Not even your boss would mess with you if he's here! Right?"

Kasuka watched them as Izaya and Shizuo shared a look, both of them thinking over if he would really be enough before Izaya leaned back on the couch once more, rubbing his temples. "I.. guess you're right, but..."

Shizuo interrupted him. "Fine, but I'll have to talk to my boss about it. If I'm stuck with  _him_ that means I can't go around doing my job unless I drag him with me." the blond negotiated, getting agreement from both other parties. Then he glanced between them for a second before continuing, the frown deepening on his features." And I'm only doin' it if I get to leave again whenever you come over to see him." he added, pointing his finger at Kasuka. "I can deal with him alone but there's no way in hell that I'm gonna stick around and watch you two be mushy together."

Kasuka nodded quickly and finally gave out a sigh of relief. "Understood. Thanks for doing this, aniki. Really."

The blond just nodded, moving his gaze from the ravenett to the quiet informant beside him. The room was quiet for a moment as they stared at each other, Izaya finally getting annoyed by it. "What?"

"I don't hear a 'thank you' outta your fuckin' mouth." Shizuo announced, continuing to glare at him in silence until Kasuka nudged his boyfriend's arm, getting a small sigh out of him before Izaya muttered a few words of gratitude. The brothers were both very sure that they heard some profanity thrown in with it but chose to ignore it for now, thinking that was the best they would get out of him for a while.

After another moment, Shizuo finally stood up. "So, my job as bodyguard would start when?"

"As soon as possible."

"Then I guess I need to find Tom now.. I'll cya later ototo."

"Alright. Cya later, aniki."

"Bye, freakshow."

"Flea!"


	81. Say Something!

_ [Izaya's POV] _

_This is a bad idea... This is an awful idea, how did I ever let Kasuka talk me into this?_ The informant inwardly lectured, chancing another glance up at his 'house guest' for about the 15th time that day.

Shizuo had only been in his house for an hour and already he could feel it weighing on him.

The two were continuously checking on each other; Shizuo to make sure nothing was going on out of his immediate field of vision and Izaya to make sure that the beast wasn't about to break something, or break him for whatever reason; and they would keep glancing whenever the other looked away, just giving both of them the impression that they were being watched.

_I guess it's better to have him watching me than some freak from work but... This is just unnatural._

Izaya held in yet another sigh as he looked up from his laptop, this time looking over at his assistant with irritation, wishing she would say something about now. Namie had been awfully quiet ever since she came in this morning and looked over to Izaya's couch, spotting a debt collector settled there with his arms crossed. And why was she quiet? Of course. It was to tick off her employer even more.

Every time he looked at her she had this grin on her face, like she just  _knew_ that he wasn't going to be the one to start a conversation or even make a comment while the beast was there to hear him, just waiting for an excuse to leave while he was supposed to be on duty for this ridiculous task of his.

_Kasuka, as much as I love you, I'm going to kill you if we don't find a new bodyguard within the next couple days.._

The informant's home and place of work continued with this silence until almost noon, now marking three hours of the beast being in his home with said informant now feeling trapped in it.  _Anything, anything, anything. Say anything. C'mon Namie, you can always read my mind, do it_ _NOW!_

"I'm gonna grab some lunch. Either of you want anything?"

_Anything but THAT, **NAMIE!**_

"Otooro." "Milkshake."

The two finally made eye contact for the first time that morning as they spoke at the same time, neither seeming too amused. Namie just cast a glance between them before grinning again, looking like she wanted to say something but leaving them in silence once more anyways. The hate-filled staring contest continued for a few minutes.

Shizuo finally turned his head to look back at the TV, it currently playing some show that neither of them were really interested in and it being background noise now, and Izaya looked back down at his work, hoping he would find something interesting enough in his research to distract him from the silence once again suffocating them. Sadly, everything was slow that day.

No one had any information he needed or any that would help him in a side task either if he got too bored with this assignment to continue it for the moment. Not a single bone was being thrown to him, at all, not even a hint of one.  _Ugh.. Humans, why have you been failing me?_

"You're gonna die."

Izaya's head shot up from his laptop at the sudden voice, it taking him a minute to realize Shizuo had finally decided to speak to him. It took him another moment to realize what he'd just said. "And why is that?" the informant asked, mentally hitting himself over the head when he realized he actually sounded curious.

_Great. I lose interest in my humans, they give me worthless or no information and now I sound **civil** with the village idiot! What else can life take away from me? _he internally hissed, having to focus again when the blond spoke up.

"All you eat is that shitty sushi."

"Simon would cry if he heard you say that. Or he'd punch you~" Izaya said automatically, cheering up a bit when he realized he didn't even need to think when it came to his and Shizuo's banter.

"It's only shitty when it's you eating it, flea!"

"He'd still be mad~ Go ahead and keep saying it while I invite him over, it's quite rare to see someone sock _you_  in the face."

"Shut the fuck up and get back to work! I'm only here so you don't get yourself killed or something."

"Aww.. It was so much more entertaining when I thought you cared about my well-being, ne~"

"Don't you fuckin' 'ne~' me, louse!"

Izaya held in a bout of laughter, actually having to cover his mouth to do so when Shizuo stood up to yell at him, hands grasping at air as he visibly held back from throwing Izaya's couch at it's owner. The debt collector was seething where he stood as the informant watched, his usual smirk back where it belonged.

"It's been a while since you've been so worked up, Shizu-chan. I haven't heard you call me "louse" in months!" Izaya snickered, casually looking back down at his laptop as he typed away, responding to an email that he'd been getting around to for the last couple hours. He was finally in a good enough mood again to honestly tell Shinnosu that 'no, I'm not dead', 'yes, everything's fine', and 'yes, me and Kasuka are still together just fine as well'.

It was suspiciously quiet in front of him besides the air practically crackling from the center of the room, caused by Shizuo's effort to do whatever it is he does when unable to follow his instincts, and Izaya looked up just in time to see him pick up a video game case, ready to break it in half. The informant jumped up without thinking, snatching it out of the beast's hands. "Stop, that's a gift!" Izaya commanded, surprising himself as Shizuo paused, burning a glare into his skull as the blond processed how Izaya had shown up in front of him so suddenly.

"From fuckin' who?"  _Like it matters to you who gave it to me._  Izaya grumbled inwardly, glancing at what was in his hands to remind himself why he'd stopped the beast in the first place.

"Kasu-kun gave it to me..." Izaya finally murmured, going back to his desk when a blush came to his face. He sat down again, shoving himself into his work once more as Shizuo continued to watch him.  _Stop judging me. I have a right to care about my own boyfriend and the whatever he gives me, you over-protective, idiotic proto-_

"Alright. Sorry.."

Izaya's head snapped up again, this time to see Shizuo dropping back down onto his couch, all anger from a moment ago gone.  _What the hell..?_

The informant stared at his bodyguard for a while, desperately trying to understand just how the blond worked until Namie finally came back with their promised snacks. Izaya buried himself in his work again and Shizuo continued to idly wait for anyone to need his help, the room now lapsing into another, now more comfortable, silence.


	82. Behave Yourselves

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

"Kasu-kun, you came to save me!" Izaya announced the second he opened his front door, throwing his arms around the actor's neck and hugging the life out of him while Shizuo calmly, in probably his own opinion, watched from the couch with a frown. Kasuka did his best to ignore the stare he was giving them as he wrapped his arms around the informant's waist in return, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Yeah, I'm here but just how am I saving you?" the actor asked with a small laugh, smiling lightly as Izaya leaned back, still hugging him.

"Your brother is the worst house guest I've ever had. He's so boring... And I've had Namie to talk to for the past couple years, so that's really something." Izaya huffed back, getting a shout of irritation from both Shizuo  _and_ Namie.

"We still hear you!"

"If you keep that up I'm never buying you lunch again..."

Kasuka shook his head at all of them, giving his boyfriend a squeeze before letting him go. He walked into the living room and greeted Namie before looking to his brother. The blond looked bored out of his mind as well after a whole day stuck in his boyfriend's house. "Hey aniki. You're free to go now, if you want." he muttered, actually wishing that they were at his own house at the moment so Shizuo could stay and hang out again. He already knew there was no way that his brother would consider staying put as long as they were here though, his point proven when the blond stood up without hesitation.

"Finally... I don't get how you can spend even an hour in this place, it's not exactly-"

"Shizu-chan, he said you're free to go. If you don't leave I might start to think you love it here." Izaya interrupted, ignoring the tightening fists at Shizuo's sides as thin arms once again wrapped around Kasuka, this time from behind. Kasuka suppressed a blush on his part as Shizuo silently murdered Izaya in his head, his sunglasses currently off and just making it all the more obvious. "Shoo~" Izaya prompted now, even making the motion towards him and just smirking wider as Shizuo made a grab for him, just barely missing as Kasuka moved them both out of the way.

"Is this what you two have been like all day?" the actor finally asked, glancing between them cautiously.

"Actually, before you got here they were practically mute. Neither of them made a peep all day." Namie announced from where she was, not even sparing the group a glance as she flipped through a magazine. Kasuka raised a brow at the new information.  _So they do get along sometimes?_

"Namie, get back to work."

"I could tell you the same."

"Flea, you'd better listen to her. She's obviously the brains in this business."

"Kasu-kun, they're ganging up on me!"

_Still, I'm surrounded by 10 year olds..._

"Guys, if you two don't start at least pretending that you can stand each other then I'm gonna force you both out to dinner with me again. We all know how well that worked out the first time." Kasuka announced, hoping to defuse the situation around him as quickly as possible.  _If aniki's already jumped at him once then there's not a lot left until he's pissed again._

His plan seemed to work too, Shizuo and Izaya both going silent while Namie looked up at them in confusion, obviously waiting for one of them to make a comment. The two started ignoring each other once more, the blond making a grab for his cigarettes while Izaya poked his boyfriend instead. "Ne, ne, can we go get ootoro tonight? I think Simon's got something new on his menu, I wanna try it."

"You've already had ootoro once today, flea. Get a better diet."

"And you've already smoked once in my house today, beast, now drop dead. You're gonna make my house stink." Izaya snapped back, snatching the cancer sticks out of his hand just before they could reach the blond's mouth. Shizuo's eye twitched once before he growled.

"You're house already stinks as bad as you do! Now stop taking stuff out of my hands already!"

"Then stop breaking my house rules! You're lucky I didn't throw these things away the minute you came inside!"

Kasuka let out a small sigh as he stayed out of this argument, knowing both sides opinions on cigarettes very well and not wanting to pick a side at the moment. There was a a tap on his shoulder and the actor turned to see Namie finally standing with them, her arms crossed as she watched his boyfriend and brother continue their debate.

"I dunno what you do to those two to make them this way but thanks for making them a little less boring." the assistant announced, getting a small smile out of the actor.

"Were they really that well behaved while I was gone?"

"Yup. They didn't fight, didn't look at each other.. well kinda... But yeah, they didn't do anything like this today from what I've seen." Namie admitted, shrugging along with him as they both glanced back at the informant and debt collector, who were now arguing about something besides smoking. The both of them were talking so fast though that Kasuka couldn't even hope to understand what their points were.

"It's good to know neither of them almost died today then." Kasuka started smiling to himself as he kept watching them, noticing both of their little quirks as they argued, the ones that let him know neither of them were truly upset. Ticked off and kind of annoyed, definetly, but not upset For some reason, even with them almost constantly shouting at one another (Shizuo actually shouting and Izaya teasing instead now), Kasuka just couldn't see why there was no hope of them getting along.

"What are you smiling so much for?" Namie finally asked him, smiling now as well when Kasuka smirked. Both of them had the same idea.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking about how much they sound like an old, married couple." the actor announced, raising his voice to ensure that they both heard him.

The fighting behind him halted and he glanced back at them with a (forced) blank expression, seeing both of them gaping at him in horror.

Izaya actually made a sound like he was gonna throw up and Shizuo backed away from the other with a pale face, not looking too well either. "That's disgusting! Why would you ever even think-"

"That's ricidulous, I would never-"

"Oh my god, I'm gonna be sick.."

Kasuka and Namie discreetly high-fived before moving closer to comfort their respective responsibilities.


	83. Cheer Up, Love

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

"That was still cruel and unnecessary, Kasu-kun..." Izaya muttered beside him, still pouting from the actor's earlier comment. Kasuka couldn't help but keep grinning about it.

"I said I'm sorry, I just wanted you two to stop arguing for a little while.. And it worked." Kasuka replied, holding his hand tighter as they walked down the street together, on their way to Russia Sushi to try out that dish the informant had talked about. After calming down both his boyfriend and brother, Shizuo and Namie left to their own respective homes for the day and Kasuka decided to apologize for his 'ridiculous notions' by treating his boyfriend to another dinner.

From the smile sneaking onto Izaya's face at the moment, Kasuka would say his apology worked as well.

The two walked closer together after a moment, Kasuka wrapping his arm around the other ravenett's waist until they finally got to the restaurant. Simon looked like he'd been waiting for them, greeting them with a wave of his arms and his usual booming voice before he pointed to their usual seat in the corner. Kasuka gave him a polite wave back before sitting with his boyfriend, glancing at the new item on the menu curiously before turning to Izaya again.

"So, as exciting as it was when I was there, how was your first day with Shizuo?" the actor asked, hoping that he wasn't driving an even deeper wedge between his two most important people. Izaya just grimaced a bit before shrugging.

"The beast didn't destroy anything I own so I guess it was fine. He still doesn't belong in my house though..." the informant muttered.  _Not too bad, he isn't threatening his existence._  the actor thought to himself, giving a hum in response before he noticed the look on his lover's face.

"Iza-chan." Kasuka said, getting his attention. "I know you don't get along, you probably never will, but this isn't permanent. And you don't even have so see him every day, just the days we're not acting. Don't look so down about it."

"I'm not down about anything!" Izaya huffed, making the younger male jump. "Your beast of a brother just doesn't belong anywhere near civilized people, namely me. He doesn't respect a single thing that belongs to me either." the informant added, crossing his arms as he sat back. Kasuka, not knowing what else to do, wrapped an arm around him again for comfort.

"What did he do? You sound really upset.."

"Nothing."

"It's obviously something."

"No, it's not. His bad attitude just rubbed off on me a little."

"I doubt that. No matter what he's done to you you've always kept smiling at him. And it's almost like a treat to you whenever he throws something. So what is it?"

Izaya let out a small sigh as he leaned into Kasuka's shoulder, face half hidden and voice low as he mumbled something, Kasuka straining to hear him. "What was that?"

"He almost broke one of your presents, and I didn't even do anything. He pisses me off.."

Kasuka looked down at his lover in surprise, first from hearing him cuss again and second for him sounding genuinely upset about it. "I'm sure he didn't mean it. What did he break?"

"He didn't break it but he almost did. And it was the first game you got for me. The creepy one I really like.." The actor was silent for a minute as he wondered what to say. Izaya almost never got upset over material objects after all, so for him to act like this in general was a challenge for him to handle. Simon came up to them just in time and asked what they wanted, the two of them getting their regulars along with the item Izaya wanted to try before they were left along again.

"Um, I'm sorry he almost broke it.. I can have a talk with him about it tonight if you want?" Kasuka offered, giving his boyfriend a smile as he waited for some kind of reaction. The informant stayed where he was for a second before agreeing to the offer, sitting up again to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Kasu-kun. I love you." the informant whispered, getting a wide smile and kiss on the lips in return. Kasuka held him tightly as he whispered it back. "But if he does break anything, you're not allowed to buy it for me again. It's not the same." Izaya ordered. The actor just chuckled this time.

"Alright your majesty, no repeat gifts. Understood." the actor replied, getting a roll of his eyes this time.

"I've told you to stop calling me that."

"But you're my queen, why can't I call you it?"

"One, I'm the King. And two, because I said so."

"If you're the King then what am I?"

"The second King! Screw traditional monarchy." Izaya announced, earning a bout of laughter from his lover.

"I'm pretty sure I just heard all of the United Kingdom feint in the distance." Kasuka chuckling, continuing to return the informant's jokes as the night continued on, the actor deciding to worry about his brother later, focusing for now on keeping his boyfriend happy as possible.


	84. Oh, It's You..

_ [Izaya's POV] _

"No, you're still doing it wrong! You don't look scary enough." the informant instructed, getting a sigh out of his boyfriend and co-star.

"I don't know  _how_  to look scary." Kasuka protested where he sat, glaring at the script in front of him. One of the turning points for their show had come again and despite what Izaya and Kasuka had expected, Kasuka's character was going to be portrayed as a bad guy for a while, maybe for the rest of the season. And so, with the new demeanor, came a slightly new spectrum of attitudes that his boyfriend hadn't worked in depth with yet.

Apparently most of the characters that Kasuka usually played were happy go lucky, childish, snarky or even posh, but none of them evil in a villainous sense. So, it was once again Izaya's job to try and help him out with facial expressions.

"Just.. I dunno, glare harder." the informant commanded, hearing another groan from the other before he tried to follow his instructions. Izaya bit his lip when the other started trying too hard. "Here, just relax and lemme try to do it for you." he muttered, scooting closer to try and move adjust Kasuka's face on his own using his hands.

"Better.. Kinda." the ravenett sighed, running a hand through his hair as the two gave up for now, moving onto the next scene. "Maybe the director will be able to help you more."

Before his boyfriend could reply, there was a bang on the door, making them both jump. The actors glanced at each other before Izaya finally spoke up, remembering that it was his room. "Come in." he called, watching as someone unexpected popped in. Dong-Yul.

"Um, hey, hi! Can I hide in here for a few minutes?" the tech manager asked, laughing nervously as he shut the door behind him. Kasuka frowned beside him and Izaya just raised a brow.

"What are you hiding from?"

"That would be my cousin.. She's kinda insane and she came here without telling me so that she could try and meet you. By the way, she's also looking for you, which is why I'm hiding here." Dong-Yul explained quickly, just getting a blank stare from the both of them.

"I don't care about your family problems. And why is she looking for me?" the informant asked, getting a guilty smile from the other before he peaked out the door, probably trying to spot where his family member had ran to.

"Okay, well.. She was kinda the only person I told about having a crush on you, and that was way before all of our um.. disagreements happened." the Korean began, still not getting a good reception. He continued anyway. "So, I told her about liking you and when she asked who you were I gave her your stage name so she got really excited because she likes the show and you're her favorite character - surprise, surprise - but then she went on this tangent about us getting married and me and her getting famous or something because you're on TV and then she kept babbling some other stuff and I was too weirded out about talking about you to her after that that I just kinda, maybe forgot to tell her that you and I are not a thing, and will now definetly never ever be a thing." he finished with a sigh, looking like he needed to sit down. During the whole thing Izaya was very sure the other had forgotten to breath.

Kasuka and Izaya shared a glance with each other, wondering if they should just throw him out to the 'wolf' or not. The actor finally spoke up. "So, if she's looking for Kobayashi because she thinks you two are together, then can't you both just say you don't like each other? You only told her it was a crush, right?"

"Yeah, I did. But my cousin has this thing with selective hearing, and like I said, she's kinda insane. If we tell her that we don't like each other then she'll just blow it off and go 'Oh you're just shy~ Dont be afraid, have a million adorable babies!'" Dong-Yul replied, covering his face with a groan as he leaned against the door. Kasuka just made a sound of mock understanding as Izaya leaned back in his seat, frowning as he stared at their unwelcome guest.  _It almost sounds like my sisters and Erika combined.. That's a scary thought._ he thought to himself, frowning deeper before letting out a sigh.

"I guess you can stay for a couple minutes, but stay over there and shut up. We're still busy." Izaya ordered, getting a nod out of the Korean as he slid down the door, sitting next to it as he listened through it for his cousin. The informant tried to focus on their previous task again as he turned, glancing at his boyfriend. His eyes widened. "That! That's the face!"

"Wait, this is my evil face?" Kasuka asked, letting go of the glare he'd been giving the other man for a few moments now.

"Yes! Now do it again, we need to practice. You can do it again, right?" Izaya watched as Kasuka glanced behind him, grimacing at the Korean still in the room.

"Yeah, I can do it.."


	85. Not So Happy Introduction

_ [Izaya's POV] _

An hour passed with Dong-Yul camped in Izaya's dressing room, both actors completely ignoring him for most of the time even though he kept opening the  _fucking_ door every 15 minutes to see where his cousin was. _How could someone be so annoying in so little time?_

"Don't you have your own room to hide in? Ya know, the one with a million cameras in it where you  _should be._ " Izaya finally announced, glancing back at the man with a glare. Dong-Yul looked up from where he was and gave a small smile.

"Yeah, but if I'm hiding then what good would it do for me to be somewhere everyone  _expects_ me to be?" the Korean reasoned, getting small sighs of annoyance from both the actors on the couch.  _At least he made sense this time._

"Alright, but I'm sure there are a million other places that you could be hiding in. Like a closet or something." the informant persisted, leaning back on his couch as Dong-Yul was about to answer. "And no, this is about you being distracting, not actually you." he interrupted, now getting a frown in return. Kasuka just sat back for now and watched his script as the other finally threw out their tech manager, obviously having no qualms if he left.

Dong-Yul stood up after a moment, clearly sensing that he wasn't wanted. "Fine then, I'll just face her on my own.."

"Good luck." Izaya hummed with little interest, turning back to his script as well. The door opened and he expected to hear foot-steps, instead he heard a yelp and turned back to see Dong-Yul still holding onto the door, a child standing on the other side of it.

"Heya, Yul!" she greeted, a wide smile on her face as she beamed up at, they assumed, her cousin. Dong-Yul smiled back down at her, though it looked a little more forced.

"Hey, Min-seo. How have you been? Are ya hungry? There's a snack bar over there, I'm sure no one will mind if you-" The tech manager babbled like that for a moment longer, though all his attempts of shuffling her away from the door were all for naught by the time he opened his mouth.

"Is that her!?" the child cut him off, the smile getting even wider as Izaya tried to discreetly press himself into the couch. It wasn't that he didn't wanna talk to a fan of his, he liked the fact that he even had fans and she looked like he was already brightening up her day too, but knowing that she already expected for him to enjoy Dong-Yul's company, or something of the sort, was a little repelling.

"Well.. Yeah but-" Dong-Yul tried once again to move her away from the door as he thought of an excuse. He once again didn't get the chance, Min-Seo squeezing between his body and the doorway to get inside, a wide smile being thrown at Izaya from a girl now less than a few inches away. She held out her hand to him and waited for him to take it, obviously knowing when to be a little more polite.

The informant took it and shook her hand lightly. "Hello.."

"Hi! I'm Min-Seo, Yul's cousin. It's so nice to meet you, Onee-sama!" the girl squeaked, Izaya giving her a a smile back until the announced his 'title'.  _Oooh, no you don't._

"It's nice to meet you too, onna Min-seo." he responded as he released her hand.

All three men watched as the girl withered a little, smile still firmly on her face though she had stopped bouncing in place, hand moving back down. When she looked like she didn't know what to do with her hands, she clasped them behind herself. "So, you're Cleo?"

Izaya nodded his head automatically, used to the stage hands sometimes calling him by his role now instead of his fake name. Min-Seo perked up again, distracted from the earlier disrespect. "I've been watching your show since the beginning and your character's my  **favorite** , you always act so so cool when scary things happen and you even scare  **him**  sometimes." the girl started babbling, gesturing to Kasuka who was still calmly sitting beside the informant, watching the whole scene unfold.

So far his boyfriend hadn't been much of a pain or help in this situation so Izaya decided to get him involved, smiling at the girl as she finally finished her monologue. "So, can I have an autograph, please!?" Min-Seo chimed, getting a chuckle out of him.

"Yes, you may. But I need to find some paper first, there's usually nothing lying around here. How about you keep Yuuhei company while I'm gone?" Izaya suggested, watching as the two glanced at each other. They both paused for a second before Min-Seo shrugged, moving to sit between them with a smile before the informant stood up, wiping the smile off his face as he grabbed Dong-Yul by the wrist and quickly dragged him out with him, shutting the door behind them.

"Get her out of here."

"What!? She'll kill me if I try to make her leave! What, do you not like kids?"

"That's a kid? How old is she?!"

"She's 14 but.."

"Then she's plenty old enough to have one of the probably countless dreams she has die. She completely ignored you once she saw me so maybe she's over the 'get married' part anyway."

Dong-Yul watched him for a second before glancing at Izaya's dressing room door, now a good few feet away. "I highly doubt she's over anything. She can be pretty obsessive when she wants to be.."

"And who's job is it to keep her away from addictions like a responsible family member?" Izaya persisted, seeing the man think again.

"Me.."

"Yes, you! Now go in there and tell her that something came up with my family, friend, pet; anything. I'll even get her that autograph still if it'll let her leave." the informant finished, turning around to actually find some paper before his wrist was caught. He glanced back at Dong-Yul.

The tech manager's face was almost unreadable as he kept him there, obviously still in thought about what to say. "Ya know.. It's getting really hard to tell if you're actually busy or just heartless." the man finally muttered, Izaya's eyes going wide for a second before his wrist was released again.  _He thinks I'm heartless? Just because I don't want to deal with his possibly insane cousin who even HE hid from?_ A moment passed before Dong-Yul finally got tired of the silence between them, a disappointed frown now on his face. "Well?" he snapped.

At being prompted again, the hurt he'd felt from a moment ago shifted. Izaya met his eyes and turned to him fully again, smiling even. "I'll have you know that you have no right to talk to me about anything involving me, what I do, who I do it with or to. I have a lot more going on right now and almost definetly not enough time to do it. I don't need to entertain anyone if I don't want to, especially not someone related to a cocky, flirtatious piece of shit that thinks he can win over someone uninterested just by batting his eyes at them a couple times. If you have a problem with that then you can crawl right back to your tech cave and rot there for the rest of your ignorant life." He hissed out, watching as the tech manager's face slowly fell, the other backing away from him and making Izaya take steps forward to ensure he was listening to him. When he was finished there was another pause between them.

Izaya suddenly spun around and spotted a stage hand with a notepad, obviously drawing something during their break. The informant walked over and gave a small smile, asking to borrow it and their pen for a second to write his signature on the paper, tearing it off neatly and handing it back before stomping back to Dong-Yul's side. "Here. Tell her I'm sorry that I can't give it person." he commanded, glare burning into the other man before he turned away again, this time to stalk to the building's official break room. He was in desperate need of otoro and coffee by now.


	86. Love Me, Don't Help Me

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

Kasuka knocked on his boyfriend's door barely half an hour after he was let out of work, determined to see if the other was okay.

At some point during the time Kasuka had been busy talking with Min-Seo, Dong-Yul had came back into the other's dressing room with a signature and an apology, looking half scared for his life and just generally upset. And Kasuka had, of course, no problems with letting him take his cousin away and probably take her home while he sat and waited for his lover to come back.

And he did wait patiently for a while, for half an hour even, but he finally couldn't stand it and went off to find out what happened.

After a wild goose chase of him asking people where his co-star had gone, being led first to the cafeteria then to the stage area then  _back_ to the dressing room and finally to the front of their lot, he figured out that Izaya wasn't still at work. So, after a few unanswered calls and texts, he finally got a message from Izaya saying that he was sorry for leaving but didn't feel well.  _Bullshit._

_Dong-Yul, I swear you are going to be the first person I've ever truly hated._ Kasuka thought to himself, knocking again to see if Izaya was just slow or hadn't heard him before taking out his own spare key. The actor got inside and looked around, catching sight of the informant at his desk sound asleep. The small panic that had been building in him when he didn't know where the other was left him and he went over, glancing at the still open computer in front of his boyfriend before closing it halfway and crouching down next to Izaya.

He nudged the informant's arm, calling his name until the ravenett opened his eyes a bit. "Izaya, it's time to get up. You shouldn't sleep at your desk like this." he scolded, watching with a small smile as Izaya sat himself up. The ravenett rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, looking up again when Kasuka righted himself and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"What're you doin' here?" Izaya asked as he continued to try and wake up, leaning back in his chair now. Kasuka noticed how tired he still looked and bent down to scoop him up despite the protests he got in return. The ravenett took his boyfriend to the couch and laid down with him, holding him tightly as he replied.

"I could ask you the same question. What made you leave so suddenly?" he asked, letting Izaya lay his head down on his chest to get comfortable. The informant paused for a few moments before sighing.

"Dong-Yul just irritated me, we didn't fight but I told him off kinda.." Izaya slowly admitted, the actor nudging him along to get the other to tell him what happened. After getting a summary of what Izaya had told him, Kasuka let out a small sigh before he smiled.  _Yul, you're a fucking idiot._

"Well, you were right. If you don't wanna talk to someone you don't have to." the actor agreed, letting a pause go between them as Izaya drifted into being half asleep again from their position. He nudged him lightly after glancing at the informant's laptop on his desk. "So, I found you at your desk.. How much work do you still have to do?" he finally asked, trying to push away the worry that could come with his answer.

Ever since Izaya told him about what Shiki had done - well, tried to do - he hadn't like the thought of Izaya being alone even for a second. And sure, he would give him plenty of space if asked to but so far Izaya had been under a pretty good watch. For the past couple days Kasuka had slept over at Izaya's house, Shizuo and Namie had been with him for a whole day and, before at least, they had been at work together. Except for the past few hours there hadn't even been a chance of someone snatching his boyfriend away. And though that made him feel better, like nothing could ever take Izaya away to hurt him, he knew that if the other still didn't get his work done then all of this could be for nothing.

They couldn't go with him to headquarters if he was called in, that's suicide to Izaya and whoever he'd brought with him. Izaya wouldn't be able to just ignore him either because, hello, he's his boss and the one that calls all the shots; also, he's probably the one that decides if every gang in the whole fucking city goes after one guy or not. If Izaya stopped doing his work, didn't make them money or reputation and blatantly, even slightly, disobeyed him then he could easily fire the ravenett. And if Kasuka had learned anything from various news, movies, autobiographies and Izaya's own descriptions of his former workplace, then he knew that getting fired from his line of work was almost work than dying. Even though, ultimately, if you get fired then you'll die much quicker anyways.

If Shiki wanted Izaya dead then all he would have to do is say the word, and no matter how many Shizuos there were nearby to protect them, there was only so much anyone could do when put up against something like that.

The ravenett sighed against Kasuka's shirt and pressed closer to him, frowning lightly. "Way too much.. But I'm done with the first assignment now, I just have to submit the information and then I have plenty of time to finish the rest so... It should be fine."

Kasuka nodded lightly though it didn't make him feel much better. "Yeah, it definetly will be.. But, if you need any help then I'm sure Shinnosu will volunteer again! I didn't scare him too bad before when I interrupted you guys, right?" the actor asked, sounding optimistic for both their sake. Izaya glanced up at him with a tired smile now.

"No, not too bad. I've emailed him since then so he's not too worried. And he's already offered to help with a couple things though it probably won't do much. He's not the most tech savvy and definetly not the best at talking with people.." the ravenett chuckled, closing his eyes as he relaxed against Kasuka again. The Heiwajima hummed lightly and stared off into space as he contemplated what could help his boyfriend the most.

"Well.. I could try to-"

"No."

Kasuka paused, glancing down at Izaya again to see his eyes open, the informant almost glaring at him as the two met eyes. "What? I didn't even suggest anything yet."

"I don't want you getting any more involved with my work than you are. You just talking to me, even worse that you're dating me, has already nearly got you killed.. I don't want you to ask a wrong question somewhere and get held hostage or drugged or.. I dunno, shipped to Singapore or somewhere like that just because you wanted to help me out." Izaya explained, still staring him down. Kasuka was never very easily threatened, especially not by his own lover, so he stayed strong and held his gaze.

"Really, someone could ship me to Singapore for dating the most amazing guy on the planet?" Kasuka mused, getting a glare from the other before he was jabbed in the side like usual. Kasuka flinched with a groan as Izaya dropped his head, cuddling close to him again. The informant took a deep breath, sounding like he would be off to sleep again soon.

"I'm serious, Kasu-kun. I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I would never be able to live with myself.."

"And I don't want to sit here and do nothing when I could try to help. I don't want Shiki anywhere near you, especially within his reasons."

They held each other a little tighter than before. "Sorry Kasu-kun, I can't let you help me. I'll get some more help from Shinnosu and a couple others that owe me a favor if I need it, but I can handle these assignments on my own."

Kasuka sighed lightly before rolling to be slightly on top of his lover, protecting him as the other got closer to sleep. "Alright, I won't get involved... But if anything happens, if your boss says he wants to talk about something, needs you to help with something in person, let me know first. If anything does happen, I don't just want you to disappear on me one day..." he whispered.

"Agreed." was all Izaya muttered before he fell asleep, Kasuka not letting him go even when he finally took him to his bed instead of the couch, curling up with him again and falling asleep as well.


	87. Adding Wood to the Fire

_[Izaya's POV]_

The informant continued to type away at his computer as he listened to the babbling of his assistant and bodyguard in the background, drowning it out the best he could as he continued to work on his second assignment.

"But it's so stupid. They could have just kicked the door in or found something to break the lock with. Those doors like ancient, they can't be that tough."

"Not everyone's as strong as you. And I think these kids are only in.. maybe their last year of primary school?"

"Really!? Then why do they look so mature already?"

"Just because all the girls have boobs already doesn't make them mature, Shizuo."

"Well it should! These people are way too creepy crazy about women…"

"Amen."

Izaya finally sighed and looked up, glancing at the two who were currently watching an anime together because Namie had finished her filing and Shizuo hadn't sniffed out anything suspicious.  _Can't they see I'm trying to focus? Well, Shizu-chan probably can, he just doesn't care.._

"Guys, if you're going to watch that then why don't you go up in the guest room? Listening to explosions isn't exactly the best when trying to find someone." the ravenett announced, seeing both of them look over at him. Namie crossed her arms.

"I've seen you watch anime while you work before." she protested, having said before that his couch was quite comfy for how much it hadn't been used (prior to when Izaya and Kasuka started using it for cuddling, obviously).

"Yes, but it wasn't loud and distracting. I mostly watch it for the soundtrack." the informant replied, turning back to his work again before he heard the TV unpause. "I said go watch it in the guest room." he groaned, running a hand through his hair as Shizuo growled at him from a distance.

"We're not getting up for you. Besides, it's my job to watch you. If I'm all the way up there then how the hell am I supposed to do anything?" the blond grumbled, getting a smirk in return.

"Aww, you do care~"

"No, I fucking don't you flea! I care about Kasuka!"

"Kasu-kun isn't here right now, and despite how much he insists on it, you shouldn't be here either. The only thing that would make you coming here matter is if I get all my work done on time anyway, so keep quiet or leave." Izaya stressed, watching them for a second as they glanced at each other.

"Killjoy." the both of them muttered before standing.

Instead of shoving off upstairs like he had ordered, he watched them turn the TV off, shuffle over to Namie's desk, take out her laptop and start watching it together from there.  _Assholes… At least they're using headphones now._

Izaya got back to work quickly and did find it much easier to focus now in the quiet, the familiar sound of only his typing filling the room and in the very background the sound of more coffee being brewed on a timer he'd set ages ago.  _If I try, I can almost imagine he's not even here._ That blissful idea came to him and he quickly accomplished it, delving into his work even more efficiently as he let a smirk come onto his face.

There were at least a dozen people in the chat-room today, all babbling and talking about what they'd heard going on around the city, herded to that topic of conversation by the informant himself of course. He gathered plenty of knowledge from a couple of them, a few seeming to be much more dull and useless to him at the moment than others, but he was still getting varied results. Some information could easily go to an assignment of his, some of it could be used for reference later, like the comments on gang activity.  _If I keep good enough track of what's going on with them then I can send it in an extra report to Shiki and he might get off my case a bit more... Damn, he might even give me an assignment or two less next time! Kasu-kun and I could go on more dates again~_

The smirk on his face turned into a smile for a moment before he focused on his task again. He almost wanted to hum to himself but didn't allow it, not only was Namie there but also his dimwitted nemesis so he just couldn't let himself relax anymore than he already had. If he did then he would probably scold himself later for it anyways.

After another half an hour he finally stretched his back and closed his laptop for a second, getting up and heading off the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. Since Namie was busy watching something there was no way that she would stop and make him one if he'd asked, plus he felt like using his legs at least once that day, so it was just better to not bother asking. He came back, now with liquid heaven in his hands, and glanced to Shizuo now standing by the window towards his desk, scanning the area outside like a hawk.

"What is it? Did the dog catch a whiff of something?" he asked nonchalantly, smirking wider when the blond glanced at him with a heated glare before looking back out the window.

"No, I didn't smell shit, I thought I saw something.." Shizuo answered him, surprising him slightly from the lack of harsh words. Of course he cussed but that was pretty normal, even when talking to Kasuka, so he'd grown used to not counting it. Izaya was about to sit at his desk and get back to work again when curiosity got the better of him. He set his coffee down and went to the window too, glancing around and humming with disinterest as he found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Are you sure you saw something? All I see if that lady tanning on the balcony and I'm pretty sure that isn't new. Granted, I usually don't look up when I'm watching humans.." the informant went on, mumbling to himself a little at the end before he was nudged by Shizuo.

"That look normal to you?" he asked, pointing directly across the street from them and up a couple apartment spaces. There was an odd shape settled on one of the balconies, the curtains drawn behind it so they couldn't see if anyone was actually there or not, and they continued to study it.

"No, it looks anything but normal.." Izaya squinted his eyes to try and make out more than what was immediately visible, spotting a cord hanging down from the apartment half way to the one below it with some sort of box connected. It didn't look very bulky or dangerous to the apartment below but neither of them could very well distinguish what it was.  _A charger that came loose maybe? Mine's come loose before but what the hell is it attached to?_  He tried to study where the cord led up to again, still not sure just what it was from this distance.

After a second he almost felt like giving up. Well, for a little bit. He knew he had binoculars somewhere around here but he hadn't needed to use them for such a long time that he had no idea where he'd last put them. He started wandering away from the window.  _Maybe they're in my closet somewhere? Or in my nightstand, that is where I shove all my equip-_

"Get down!" He heard behind him, not even a moment later being knocked down to the ground with a weight on top of him. He tried to push the weight off before he froze, the sound of glass breaking surprising him enough to keep him still and make his eyes shut just before there was a bang. It wasn't like a gun shot or anything too dangerous, but then again it didn't sound as innocent as a party popper.

They let the room grow quiet before he opened his eyes, the act making them sting and water greatly when the tainted air met them.  _Ahh shit.. I can't see anything._ Izaya squeezed his eyes shut to try and get whatever was hurting them out before lightly covering them with his sweater sleeve, trying to focus his eyes enough to see if Shizuo was alright. After a moment of being laid on it was painfully obvious that the brute had acted as a shield for him, the blond currently having the same problem he had from the looks of it.

The informant kept his mouth covered with a sleeve as well while he took a deep breath, his eyes beginning to hurt too much and making him close them again. "Shizu-chan, you alright?" he coughed out. Whatever was in the air didn't affect his throat as badly as it did his eyes but it also didn't help. There was smoke gathered on his ceiling and in a couple second the fire alarm was going off, just adding to the irritation that gave him a headache. The beast beside him shifted.

"Yeah.. Nothing hurts so I guess whatever that was wasn't a bomb, at least not a real one." the blond replied, groaning as he sat up and moved away from the informant. Izaya nodded despite neither of them probably being able to see it.

The informant took another covered breath before speaking up. "Namie, are you alright? Say something." he called out, listening the direction of where her desk was and hearing some shuffling.

"Yeah, I'm alright too.. What the fuck just happened?" Namie responded, sounding just fine despite the smoke. After a second the air didn't hurt them as much, and once they all got their footing Namie went to open the door in an attempt to empty the apartment of whatever was left, though checking through the peephole first to see if anyone was waiting outside for them. The door was wide open now and no one was rushing in to shoot them or anything so they assumed they were fine for now, just in shock.

Izaya had no idea what to do so he just sat there while the air cleared, Shizuo sitting beside him for a moment before moving over to try and discreetly look through the shattered window, some glass cracking under his hand as he leaned on it. "Beast, if whatever just crashed in didn't hurt you then don't make up for it on your own. Get away from the glass." the informant instructed, finally getting his wits about him enough to stand up on his own, glancing at where their enemy's ammo had landed.

It looked like a small grenade, one much too small to be effective or to not be a toy one, it even looked like it was made of rubber. On further investigation though it was still leaking a tiny bit of smoke, letting them know it really had been the one to cause them damage. Nothing around it was damaged besides being a bit stained from what he assumed was gun powder, maybe even arsenic salt, and nothing was even pushed from it's original position by force besides his office chair, which had wheels on it in the first place.

_So, if it wasn't meant to hurt us, then it was meant to scare us... But who was it for?_

Izaya was very sure that it wasn't his employer already. First of all, there was no reason for Shiki to go to such lengths to scare him. A simple phone call and no use of resources could have accomplished that and the man knew it. Then there was the method itself. Shiki liked to think of himself as an artist in some things, and while he did use many other people that he himself scared shitless to do his dirty work, tactical fear and menacing was something that he enjoyed doing personally and within a good reach of the other person. He would't have done it this far away where he couldn't watch the outcome or response and he wouldn't have done it in such a sloppy manner as throwing a gas grenade, a  _ **toy**_ gas grenade at that.

_So we're dealing with someone else entirely, someone who hates me.. Then again..._ Izaya glanced up at his supposed savior - he could give Shizuo the credit for trying to do his job well, even if they had been in no danger they had no idea that it would only produce gas so Shizuo had obviously been ready to use himself as a waste-able shield just to protect someone he himself hated quite a lot. The act was completely admirable. But even then, he could have very well been the cause of this.

_I hate Shizu-chan, I'm sure a lot of others do too. He collects peoples' money for a living which no one likes at all and, unintentionally I suppose, even leaves some of them homeless. I would be mad too, furious even, so it would make sense that they're after him.. I'm not much better though, honestly..._

Izaya ran a hand through his hair and looked to his assistant and bodyguard when he noticed they were watching him, both waiting for answers most likely. And sine he didn't have them, he gave them orders instead. "Namie, please go turn off the fire detector. We don't need anyone checking on us at the moment." he said first, glancing at her and watching as she opened her mouth to protest just before she turned an went, no arguing to be had.  _Good._  He glanced at the blond then. "Call Shinra, let him know you, me and Namie are coming over. I don't know what was in that grenade but it would be better to make sure none of us get sick from it or worse." he muttered, having a staring match with him nemesis before the blond just nodded, standing up quickly and heading over to Namie's desk where he'd last left his cell phone.

Before he couch reach it Izaya called his attention then, grabbing his own cellphone and looking like he was going to head upstairs. "Thanks for trying to save me, Shizu-chan. Let's hope if you do it again that it's still not a real grenade." he muttered, awkwardly giving him a thankful smile before heading upstairs, dialing Kasuka as he went. He called and after a second attempt his boyfriend finally answered. "Kasu-kun? You're almost off work right? Okay. When you get off head right to Shinra's, we're all meeting up there... No, no. Don't worry yourself, just go to Shinra's. I'll cya there. Love you.." He hung up before Kasuka could ask him any questions.


	88. Check-Up

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The three traveled down the street quickly, all on their way to Shinra's apartment to get checked out and also plan what to do in a safer environment. They had no way of knowing how long whoever had done this has been watching them, if they know that they would head to Shinra's place immediately or not and keep tabs of them, but it was better than sitting in the detonation zone if the attacker had more than fake ammo.

And, just as a precaution though much to Namie's disappointment, they were all walking there on foot instead of taking Namie's car in case it had been tampered with.

About half way there all of them were still on edge. They had no idea who was behind this, where that person would be, how they would try to scare or attack them next.. The stares of passersby didn't help as they drew closer to their destination and more people knew them as dangerous beings who were usually at each others throats.  _Can't you see none of us are in a good mood? Just smile and walk already!_ he mentally sighed, ignoring everyone as they trudged along.

For a fleeting moment he thought of enticing Shizuo into a chase. It would get them to their destination faster and people wouldn't look at them twice if they actually  _were_ fighting, since that was the norm even if it was quite the spectacle. But, they did have Namie with them and there would be no way in hell for her to keep up with them if they suddenly gave chase to one another. And, as another almost nonexistent option for why they had been assaulted, she could also be a target of whoever was after them.

Sure, she didn't look like much of a threat, but she did work closely with him and he was dangerous so maybe someone wanted her for information? It most likely wasn't their main objective but she could be in danger as well, if either of them were in serious trouble.  _Just another person I have to worry about..._

Izaya let out a sigh as he walked behind the blond brute, having been shoved there by said beast after they got outside since he was 'still his bodyguard'. He tried to rid himself of the troubling thoughts for now, telling himself that he could focus on it more once they were at Shinra's and getting checked up. For now he looked around and tried to see if anyone was looking suspicious. No one that looked at them seemed to have anymore interest in them than the rest, all appearing freaked out that the two strongest men in Ikebukuro were taking a leisurely stroll together in the city.

_I can't blame them. This is really weird.. Wonder what look they would have on their faces if I told them that Shizu-chan was protecting me~_

That thought at least put a smile on his face, it shifting to a smirk and settling there until they finally got to Shinra's and knocked, barely getting one rap on the door before it was thrown open. Shinra stood there, face serious for once as he immediately looked them all over and evaluated them before they even stepped foot into his home. None of them were bleeding or even looked like there was a scratch on them; Shinra seemed to notice this too. "Alright then, explain to me what happened." Shinra finally announced, moving to the side so the three could shuffle in and start talking.

He ordered for all of them to go into the back room and sit on the bed, then to roll up their sleeves so he could do a basic check-up while they explained what had brought them there. When they got to the bit about it just letting out smoke that hurt their eyes, Shinra glanced up at them with interest. "Someone went to the trouble of setting up a grenade launcher, pointing it right at your window, waiting for you to be there perfectly in place, and then setting it off correctly... Just to throw a smoke bomb at you?" the doctor repeated, rightfully skeptical. All three of them nodded and he sighed softly before telling them to go on.

"There isn't much left. The thing went off, we all got up, made sure things were alright, then called you. Here we are now." Shizuo finished for them, getting a hum of agreement from Namie who was currently getting blood taken. Nothing had seemed to be wrong with them internally but Shinra was always one to be extra careful; in this situation, despite his brunette assistant's deep hatred of needles, they all thought he was right to be so. He also quickly checked their heartbeat and breathing, just to make sure none of them got too much smoke inhalation. Namie once again muttered about them only being in the room for about 10 minutes with the smoke but Shinra insisted on doing everything for his check-ups.

He was just finishing up with them when there was another knock on the door, Celty answering it and coming back with Kasuka trailing behind her, obviously worried. "Are all of you alright? What happened?" Kasuka asked quickly, looking them over like Shinra had done earlier.

Izaya couldn't help smiling a bit now that his boyfriend was present. "We're all fine. Our bodyguard here made sure of it." the informant announced, jabbing his thumb as Shizuo who irritably nudged it further away from himself. Namie rolled her eyes at them as she rolled her sleeves back down.

The actor visually relaxed at the information, smiling as well before he drew closer and wrapped his arms around the informant, ignoring the other people in the room for a moment before he glanced at Shizuo. "Thanks for helping, aniki." he muttered, making both the blond and ravenett blush a little from how grateful he sounded. The two started babbling at the same time.

"It was nothing-"

"He didn't do that much-"

"I did save your ass-!"

"It was a fake, we weren't in any real-"

"Both of you shut up and let him hug you. Now isn't the time for arguing." Namie demanded, shutting the both of them up again. Kasuka gave her a thankful nod before releasing Izaya for a second, giving his brother a hug as well before backing up, returning to his usually serious demeanor.

"Alright, time to break it to me.. What happened?"


	89. Just Breathe

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

"What!?" he exclaimed, eyes wide as he listened to his boyfriend explain himself. It had only taken a few moments, apparently nothing had really  _happened_  to them despite the need for them all being here, and all three witnesses sounded completely nonchalant about the experience like it had been nothing more than a prank.. But a grenade!? It didn't matter if it was fake or not to the actor, all that mattered was the fact that it could have been a real one, a deadly and dangerous one, and could have killed not only his boyfriend but his brother as well, along with a potential friend.  _And they're acting like it doesn't even matter!_

"Kasuka, we're all fine for now. We just need to think of a plan." Izaya tried to persuade, actually sounding like the voice of reason for once instead of the voice of sarcasm. "We don't know who this guy is, what he wants or why he would even try to scare us how he did. And the first thing to do is try and find an answer to those three variables, right?" he continued to ask, looking at everyone else in the room. Celty and Shinra nodded calmly, obviously finding it rational, and Namie just looked like she had a headache from being put in this situation. Shizuo didn't look too much better, currently running a hand through his hair before he hesitantly nodded.

Apparently no one else was feeling as completely constricted as he did at the moment either, him being the only one who seemed to have a problem breathing. Despite Shinra being the doctor in the room, Izaya was the first to notice. "Hey, you alright?" he asked, sliding off of the medical bed Shinra told them to stay on as he put a hand on Kasuka's shoulder.

The ravenett didn't know how to answer him, feeling perfectly fine on the outside but.. Well, his mind still just couldn't get passed the fact that they could have been blown up only half an hour ago. So, instead of using his words, the actor grabbed his boyfriend by the hand and lead/dragged him back out of the room and towards the living room to talk and think in peace. "Kasu-kun?" he was prompted though he ignored it again until he could sit on the couch, resting his head in his shaky hands. "D-Do you need me to get you ice again?" the informant asked beside him, crouching there now as he looked up at his boyfriend.

The question got him thinking correctly again, giving a faint nod after he squeezed the other's hand for support. He watched Izaya scamper out of sight before coming back with a handful, giving it to him and letting Kasuka grasp it before sitting beside him. The actor zoned out for a moment and focused only on the cool between his hands, letting it calm him down before being drawn back to earth, noticing that Izaya was trying to help him by rubbing small circles on his back. He took in a deep breath before sitting up again, the ice still melting in his hands.

"Thank you.." he muttered, getting a hum in reply as Izaya kept comforting him. The actor finally looked over at his boyfriend and gave a small smile. "I'm better now." he reassured, receiving a hug from the other ravenett which he quickly returned, arms wrapping around him tightly and Izaya not seeming to mind that he was getting his beloved jacket wet unintentionally.

"Good.. And I'm sorry for dropping this on you so suddenly, just.. It happened and I'm trying to keep it from happening again." Izaya said slowly, making Kasuka sigh. He didn't pull back from the hug, instead he tightened it, shifting the ravenett until he was sitting in his lap.

"I know, this is just.. You could have been hurt.. Fuck, you could have died!" he announced, still in disbelief. Izaya immediately started fussing over him again to keep him from stressing out, even though that was technically impossible at the moment. "Iza-chan, I'm fine. I'm just thinking out loud." he muttered, reassuring his boyfriend until he finally sat still again, the both of them letting silence linger as Kasuka worked through his thoughts.

He tried not to dwell on the thoughts of how Izaya might have been gone already without his knowledge, or the thoughts that he could have lost the only real family he had in just a few seconds.. It would have been his fault too, if Kasuka hadn't specifically asked and insisted for him to be there then Shizuo could have been out on the town with Tom plenty of times by now, possibly away from the danger that he'd just been put into...  _I need to stop thinking, seriously..._

The actor finally looked up again and glanced at his boyfriend, who was sitting silently in his lap as he ran his fingers through the younger man's hair. Once Kasuka acknowledged it, it was actually pretty soothing. He glanced around Shinra's apartment for a second to remind himself that the doctor was still probably waiting for their return in the other room.

He pushed all of his prior thoughts aside as he slid Izaya off of his lap, standing up and taking his hand instead."I'm better now. We can go back to Shinra and the others."

"You sure?" the informant asked, tightening his grip on Kasuka's hand a bit before he got a nod in reply.

"Yeah, I'm sure.. Let's just try to find whoever did this, okay?" he suggested, leading Izaya back and standing against the wall with him hand in hand as they listened to Shinra mutter to himself about results. Shinra didn't look very concerned about them though so he noticed everyone else trying not to be as well. The brunett finally turned around and glanced up to see them back in the room again, giving them a smile before he glanced at all of his patients.

"Alright, the blood work is going to take a bit more time before we get those results, but everything else checked out just fine. All of you should be in perfect health at the moment as well, kudos to that, so let's move on.." Shinra announced, glancing once again at Namie before looking at her purse. "Did anyone happen to  _bring_  the grenade that went off with them? Because, since it's much easier than putting all of our heads together, I'd like to find the fingerprints of whoever happened to.. well, prank you."

Namie shook her head, followed by Izaya then by Shizuo. Shinra just sighed. "Of course no one did.. Time to send someone back to your place and hope it's still there.."


	90. Kasuka's Brain is Best Brain

_ [Izaya's POV] _

Izaya, Shizuo and Kasuka all shifted restlessly on the couch in Shinra's apartment, waiting for the results, if there were any, of the fingerprint scan that could reveal their attacker.

Namie and Celty were currently having 'girl talk' in the kitchen now that the headless rider was back from retrieving the evidence. The Dullahan had volunteered herself to go pick it up after listening to to everyone, besides Namie and Shinra, debate about who should go.

Izaya had announced that he should have gone for the obvious reason, it was his apartment and it was probably his fault that they'd been attacked. Shizuo nominated himself because he was in charge of keeping his brother, and unhappily his brother's boyfriend, safe, which meant going back into a dangerous area to get things in their place. That was quickly shot down by Kasuka who just didn't want to see either of them in any more danger, at least not in the same day that they had already avoided serious injury.

After quite a bit of bickering, Shizuo and Izaya having their usual banter - this time with the 'I'll kill you's - and Shinra telling all of them to calm down and decide this like gentleman, Celty had come in, told them all to be quiet through PDA and quickly left, the whiny of her motorcycle telling them all that arguing at this point would definetly be for nothing.

Now it was about 20 minutes later and none of them knew what to do, Izaya especially though he was trying to piece together who would do something like this to them. The list was still too long and vague to look at though, his mind coming up blank whenever he tried to put a name to who could have done this. Finally he sighed, the action getting his boyfriend's attention and just a scowl from Shizuo who was farthest from him on the couch.

"Think of anything?" Kasuka muttered, not being too loud just because the room around them was completely silent; the kind of silent that made it feel like almost a bother to speak up and break it, or like you were being rude for some reason by trying to talk. Izaya couldn't agree more because he certainly wouldn't have been the first one to say anything right now unless Shinra was the one walking in.

The informant shook his head, holding in another sigh since he didn't feel like irritating the beast beside them too much, for now. Fighting would do nothing for them in this situation. "No, nothing.. The whole thing is just odd. It's one thing in my line of work to be.. disliked and open to attack every now and then, that's normal. But this has never happened. No one's ever threatened me like this without actually... I dunno, threatening me?" Izaya tried to work out, wishing he hadn't replied now as he realized what he said didn't make any sense.  _Of course they threatened me, we thought a bomb went off. A real one! That's a threat if I ever saw one... But still, there wasn't really any warning or reason and the thing didn't even hurt us or my house. How am I supposed to respond to that?_

To his surprise, Kasuka nodded back to him. "I think I get it. This whole thing sounds more like a prank than an attack to me, but if it happens again.." the actor trailed off, biting his lip until Izaya nudged him, motioning for him to stop it. The informant shifted closer to his lover and laid his head on Kasuka's shoulder, not sure if Shizuo was paying attention or not and definetly not caring as they both fell into silence again. There was still chatter coming from the kitchen but it seemed almost muted out, it being the only actual noise in the room as well since Shinra's clocks were digital.  _At least we don't have that stupid ticking to listen to like in the movies..._

It continued this way for a couple more minutes, Izaya sitting up again when they heard the door open.

Shinra finally came out, a paper in his hand as he stopped at the front of the hall, glancing at them. "Well.. There is a print on it, and I scanned it a few times in different places, but I can't get a name for it." the doctor admitted, glancing at the paper in his hand with a look of disdain before turning his gaze up at the three of them, glancing passed them as well when the girls finally came out of the kitchen to listen to the news. Shinra repeated what he found out and Namie raised a brow, visually ticked off. And despite Celty lacking any facial expression, Izaya could tell that she wasn't happy either as her shoulders drooped.

"What do you mean you can't get a name? You just said you have the prints." Shizuo huffed where he sat, grimacing where he was as Shinra turned to him to explain.

"Hey, I'm not some government worker or police officer, ya know! Just because I have the equipment and skills does not mean that I have every name and face listed in that thing. The best I have is an index of most people born  **in** Japan up to a certain number of years ago. Everyone else; foreigners, tourists, probably people that weren't born in a hospital or facility; I have nothing on them." the doctor prattled on, frown on his face as they all looked towards him, faces irritated but understanding.  _He **is**  an illegal doctor, we can't expect him to have everything... _Izaya told himself, running a hand through his hair as he turned to look ahead again, sinking into his seat on the couch as they went back to Square 1.

No name, no face, no reason, no clues...

Suddenly Kasuka tapped him on the shoulder, realization on his face. "Hey, you live on a residential street, don't you?" the actor asked, Izaya raising a brow from the question.  _There is no dumb question except for that one, Kasu-kun._

"You know I do. Why does it matter?"

"Because, that means there shouldn't be any hotels or businesses on your street at all, meaning whatever room that thing was shot from must belong to someone. So, if we go to their building and just ask who has that room then we might have the name of the person who shot it." he conveyed, glancing between Izaya, Shinra and Celty as he did, obviously excited that he had thought of a partial solution to their problem. And Izaya couldn't blame him, what he'd just said was not only smart but obvious, making him, admittedly, the smartest person in the room right now for even noticing it.

Everyone paused for a second as they took that in, Izaya finally nodding. "You're right.. Kasuka, you're a genius." he admitted, giving his boyfriend a warm smile and peck on the lips before standing.

"Alright. We can't go in there and ask everyone if they shot a grenade at us or anything like that, so I need a computer. Shinra, you got one?" Izaya asked, turning to the doctor who guiltily shook his head.

"No.. Celty's laptop broke a week ago and we haven't had the time to get it repaired because of more patients." he admitted, Izaya not even paying attention to his explanation as to why. The informant was turning away from him half way through the sentence.  _Don't have time.. Need to handle grenade-guy, still have Shiki's work to do.. I hate when everything awful happens at once._

"Alright then. Namie, I know you have one. You still have a home computer, right?"

His assistant nodded before letting out a sigh, glancing at her phone to check to the time. "Yes, I do. If you wanna use it we better hurry though. It takes a train to get there and the next one to my stop is leaving in twenty minutes." Namie reported, looking back up at him to see her employer nodding.

"Alright.. Namie, you're coming; Shizuo, you're coming with us-"

"Why do I have to go with you!?"

"You're still my bodyguard, suck it up. Besides, if you're not going to protect me then come with us to protect Namie."

The blond let out a growl before grumbling as he stood, dutifully following them and getting a proud but worried look from Kasuka. Said actor stood up as well. "I'm coming with you-"

"No you aren't."

"But it was my idea!"

Izaya held in another sigh as he looked at Kasuka, opening his mouth to protest again before he glanced at Namie's phone.  _We don't have time for this. He did come up with the idea but if there's anyone scouting her out as well then once we step foot near the property he could be in serious danger..._ the informant worked through the pros and cons quickly, glancing up at Shizuo to see if he had any say in what to do. The blond looked conflicted as well. Finally, before Izaya could decide, he spoke up.

"Kasuka, you're staying with Shinra and Celty. It's safest here and you're the one that we have on the quickest speed dial, so if we need help then we'll be calling you to send it for us. Okay?" the debt collector announced, getting a stunned look from both Izaya and Kasuka before it clicked in Izaya's head what he was doing to make this go faster for them. The informant thanked him - in his head at least, he would never ever let the beast think he was grateful for him hanging around - and turned to Kasuka as well, nodding quickly.

"He's right. If anything happens you'll be the first one to know."

The actor didn't seem content with that, eyes slightly wide still as he looked between them, Namie muttering behind them that if they didn't hurry they would miss the train. Izaya gave Kasuka puppy eyes and hoped no one else noticed, the actor quickly noticing it and sighing in defeat. "Alright, I'll stay here.. Just be careful for me." Kasuka relented, getting an extremely quick smile and hug from Izaya before they were all out the door and on their way to the train station as fast as possible.  _I'll be careful for you Kasu-kun, but I can't promise anything right now. I hope everything goes okay.._


	91. Just Need An Answer

_ [Izaya's POV] _

Izaya, Namie and Shizuo all trekked towards his assistant's home, eyes wandering around them warily as they drew closer. They were now in a more suburban area of Tokyo, actual homes around them instead of the usual tall towers of apartments. Everything seemed a bit more quaint than they were used to, more safe in general, but they couldn't stop double checking to make sure.

After a few more moments they were finally on the front step of Namie's home, the brunette opening the door for them and allowing Shizuo to shove his way inside first, taking a look around for them before either wandered in a couple paces behind him. Everything seemed just fine for now, nothing out of the ordinary. Izaya spun around for a second to look through the door, glancing across the street and at the surrounding area to see if there was anything odd. When he deemed it okay, he went inside and shut the door behind him, following Namie to a back room with her computer in it.

"Sorry it's not really high-tech. I haven't had to use this thing very much in a long time." Namie noted, leaning against the wall by the door as Shizuo stood on the outside of it, still watching over them. From her tone it was obvious that she only spoke to break the silence for a moment.

"It doesn't matter, anything will work really.." he muttered back, turning it on and getting himself situated before finally being able to start the search. He went to his address first then searched through every name of the residents that occupied the building opposite his own, cross searching them with anything that could be suspicious; purchase of weapons, ammo, certain 'toys' since the one thrown at them had been rubber... He continued on with the search for what felt like eternity, frustration building as nothing he searched the names with sent off an alarm.

There was nothing. No suspicious persons, no one with a bad history, no one that had only recently moved in, and no one that even seemed to have an incentive for what had occurred.

_But there can't be nothing.. I must have skipped over something._

Izaya ignored the looks he got from the other two as he began typing faster, searching through his results again more thoroughly and biting his lip when there was still nothing the second time around. "Flea, have you found anything yet?" Shizuo asked from the doorway, glancing back at him and away from his task finally to check on him. The informant didn't want to be the bearer of secondary bad news; they'd already been let down by the fingerprints, they didn't need a repeat.

_But I don't understand... We were attacked, threatened, by someone who lives just across the street. How could there be absolutely nothing?_

The informant laid his face in his hands for a moment as he thought, trying to find something else to search that could possibly help. For a few moments his mind was blank. He'd searched everything he usually did, along with a couple others things that he usually didn't bother with; mental diseases/issues, school records, recent injuries...

Finally it hit him.

He ignored the glances he got from Namie and Shizuo as he began typing again, going into the Dollars website and hacking into it, not enough to set off a firewall but deep enough that he could track IP addresses that had visited the main page and gotten passed it. He had no idea why he didn't think of this earlier. Sure, most of the people in the Dollars were just those who wanted a title behind them for protection, for status among their peers, but every once in a while an actual threat could get in, hiding away among the crowd of innocents.

And he'd just found him.

"I got him." he finally announced, printer running off the sheet of information there was on the boy as he spoke. The other two glanced at each other.

"Just like that? You looked like your world ended just a minute ago." Namie noted, brow raised as she watched the informant nonchalantly switch off her computer and put the now-folded information into an inner pocket of his jacket.

"Well, it wasn't and isn't, so let's get back to Shinra's before anyone we left behind has a heart attack." Izaya replied, standing and walking out passed Shizuo, only to be pulled back again as the blond took point.  _I have to say, I'm impressed.. Really freakin' annoyed that he's pushing me around, but impressed._  Izaya thought to himself as he rolled his eyes, following behind the bodyguard and glancing at Namie to make sure she was following.

In no time they were already safely away from the property, all giving a sigh of relief except for Izaya. The informant seemed to be calm as a cucumber now that he had the information needed to get whoever had attacked them, not even worried enough to glance over his shoulder anymore. His assistant and nemesis quickly took notice as they got onto a train to head back.

"Why are you so casual now? When we first got there you looked like an amateur spy!" Namie announced, glancing at him with a slight glare, probably ticked off that her employer was once again having odd moods. Shizuo glared at him as well.

"Flea, just because you know who did it doesn't mean we're not in danger anymore. There could be a whole gang of-"

"I highly doubt that, Shizu-chan." Izaya interrupted, taking out his cellphone and sending a text to Kasuka saying that they would be back at the apartment soon. When he glanced up again Shizuo looked murderous, 'patiently' waiting for an explanation from him as he gripped and completely mangled the hanging stabilizer in the train car. Izaya couldn't help but smirk. "Despite how badly he scared us, there isn't any danger. The kid's just some pathetic freshman from our old facility~"


	92. Too Much At Once

_[Kasuka's POV]_

The actor waited patiently for his boyfriend, brother and acquaintance to get back, foot tapping on the floor nervously in the silence. He was currently alone in the living room, Celty and Shinra having left after their failed attempts at started a conversation with him ended. He had just been too distracted to focus on what they were saying before, his mind constantly wandering back to the phone in his hand as he waited for something to go wrong.

Not like he wanted anything to go wrong, that was the whole reason he'd agreed to staying behind. He could be a liability to the other's if he were to come and mess something up, he had no experience with things like this after all, so he'd rather stay behind and be anxious… But that didn't stop him from imagining them getting hurt on the way there, or possibly kidnapped.

The idea of Izaya getting kidnapped escalated his thoughts into making him wonder just who could be taking him away, his only logical answer being the yakuza and quickly leading back to his ultimate fear: what could and probably would happen when Izaya was finally called in to meet with his boss.

That specific fear had gotten to him recently, Kasuka feeling that Shiki had just been a bit  _too_ quiet lately for his liking. Izaya had let him know after some probing that Shiki hadn't given him too many extra assignments this time and, since giving them to him, he hasn't messaged him a word. The bastard hadn't even sent confirmation that he'd gotten all the information requested in an assignment Izaya finished.

As Kasuka was lost in thought, his phone eventually beeped, the noise making him jump in his seat and panic as he opened the device, expecting the message to tell him they needed Celty for whatever reason. Thankfully, it didn't.

Everything had been handled on their end and they were safely on their way back to Shinra's apartment, not a threat in sight. That also sounded too good to be true, as much as it let him relax for the moment.

He let his eyes wander to ceiling and he zoned out again as he waited for them, biting his lip as he wondered what to do. If Izaya had really gotten the information they needed then this problem could be fixed in no time, maybe a day or two at the most - even less probably, with Shizuo's help - but if it was something that they couldn't handle on their own then Izaya would be in serious danger if he was left alone again, even with Kasuka there in the apartment with him, ready to help.  _He's already in enough danger, we don't need this…_ he mentally sighed, wishing he could just take away all of the problems they currently had and make them disappear. There was just too much going on at once, too many factors to take in…

_If Izaya's attacked then he could get seriously hurt or killed, if he does get hurt then he possibly won't be able to work on his assignments and if he can't work on his assignments then Shiki is going to be angry. He probably won't even care that Izaya needs time to heal, the bastard, and if he really doesn't then he's just going to call Izaya in anyway and hurt him more and have him…_

Kasuka hadn't realized that tears were forming in the corners of his eyes until the door opened near him, making him quickly blink them away and wipe away whatever was still obvious, turning to the door. Just the man he was hoping to see came into view, still intact and actually looking pleased with himself. Without thinking, he stood up again and greeted each of them with a tight hug. Well, he hugged Izaya and Shizuo; Namie he gave a small squeeze on the arm, which she seemed to understand and dismiss. As Celty and Shinra were coming back into the room, he took Izaya by the hand and gestured to the kitchen. "Can we talk for a second?" he asked on impulse, not meaning to be rude by making everyone else wait for the information but also not being patient enough to talk with his boyfriend after they all knew what was going on.

The informant just raised a brow at him from the question before nodding. "Yeah, we can.." he agreed, following behind Kasuka and excusing them both before they were in private once more. Once they reached the kitchen he wrapped the ravenett in his arms again, holding him tightly. "Kasu-kun, is something wrong?" Izaya asked, giving him a small peck on the cheek. The actor continued to hold him, tightening his grip a little as he buried himself into the juncture of his boyfriend's neck and shoulder.

"No.. I mean yes, but..." Kasuka muttered against his skin, realizing that he didn't really have anything to say to the other besides the obvious. He took a deep breath as he thought, inhaling the other man's scent and relaxing as he found something never-changing about his boyfriend. The other had always smelled nice to him; sure, it was an odd combination of smells, not all of them exactly smells that he liked - Izaya constantly smelled like ootoro, coffee and that apple shampoo that he uses whenever he takes a bath - but he didn't mind. What he did mind was what could possibly take this away from him, and he reminded himself of that to make himself focus again.

He looked up at Izaya and gave him a peck on the lips. "I was just really worried. It's nothing... Did you really find all you needed to know while you were there?" Kasuka asked finally, knowing he should let Izaya go back into the other room with him before explaining everything but not being patient enough, once again. The informant finally gave him a smile, the other looking worried a minute ago from his sudden silence.

"Yeah, I did. From what I found there shouldn't really be anything to worry about."

"What do you mean nothing to worry about? You got a grenade thrown at you!"

"Yes, but it was a  _toy_ grenade, even if it was rigged with gas. That's probably all the poor kid can get, seeing as he isn't even old enough to drive yet." Izaya replied, the smirk on his face letting Kasuka know he wasn't lying or joking either. He had that smirk that let Kasuka knew he'd won, the smirk he'd come to love even though it constantly showed right in his own moments of defeat (in video games, of course).

Despite the extra comfort he got knowing that Izaya had everything handled, as well, he couldn't help being a bit skeptical. "A  _kid?_  What would a kid be doing rigging toys, and how young are we talking here?" the actor asked, releasing Izaya from his hold as the other pushed away, light smile now on his face.

"I'll let you know everything in the other room, alright? It's not fair to keep Shinra and them waiting any longer." Izaya dismissed, taking his hand as they walked back out and got down to business, finally able to inform all other persons about Izaya's discovery.


	93. Time For Action

_[Izaya's POV]_

"So, you're saying that the person who attacked you is only a teenager?" Shinra asked again, still unconvinced. Izaya couldn't blame him but he just rolled his eyes one more time before nodding and crossing his arms.

"Yes, and from what I pulled up this kid likes any kind of mayhem you can find. That grenade he threw at us? He's already planted a couple more fake ones around Raira and the community in the last few months. No one called the cops on him because they thought it was just a stupid prank and that they could suspend him to fix it." the informant explained slowly, more in depth this time than before, and looked around to see if anyone else was still confused.

Despite still looking surprised, no one seemed to be and Shizuo actually seemed curious now. "So, what? Was it really just a prank?" the blond asked, hand reaching for another cigarette before he grasped air, the poor idiot having run out of his cancer sticks on the way back to Shinra's earlier.

"I doubt it. He calls himself an anarchist like it's a good thing and if anything else he's done says anything, now that he found someone to torment he'll probably keep it up until something interesting happens or move on to someone more influential in general. He might be able to, too. There's no records of him or his parents buying any of the stuff he's used to scare people so I bet he even steals it himself or has another person get it for him." Izaya went on, glancing at the papers in his hands and reading through a couple comments made by his peers. "Hates authority, most older people in general, is always acting weird and smiling to himself-"

"So it's another you." Shizuo interrupted, getting a harsh glare in his direction.

"Anyway, despite being odd he has straight A's and is always messing with things, which is probably how he rigged the toys to actually go off and how he could set something up besides an actual grenade launcher to get it where he needed it to be. Probably a potato gun or something stupid like that…" Izaya trailed off, once again losing himself in thought as he pondered what to do about this kid.  _There's no way I can just leave him be, he lives across the street and has a perfect shot at me for whenever he feels like causing a problem. I have enough problems as it is.. And if he somehow gets his hands on anything more lethal than smoke then we could have an even worse problem._ Izaya trailed off in thought, almost sighing at the fact that he couldn't handle this kid like how he would have before he met Kasuka.

It would be fun to see if he still had the manipulation skills to bring someone to their own death even though it wasn't as appealing as before and probably wouldn't make him the happiest he could be about now; why stray too far from habit anyways? The only problem was that this kid might react differently to the threats and bad comments made by the community than others would. He could find them appealing, pleasurable even, and cause more havoc to get attention.  _Irritating.._

"First things first, we need to think of a plan. And if we can't do anything in the next couple hours then I need to stay over at Kasuka's - is that alright?" Izaya asked his boyfriend, glancing at him and getting an instant nod.

"It's not like I'd let you go back home now anyway, especially alone.." Kasuka agreed with a small chuckle, making Izaya happy in turn to see him over his previously crippling worry. Frowns and tears just didn't suit his boyfriend, so he really wished things would stop happening to cause them. "So,  _do_ we have any ideas? We know where he lives, obviously, and his name and how old he is and where he goes to school. What can we do about him?" the actor continued, glancing around to see everyone thinking. To Izaya's surprise, Namie was the first one to speak up.

"He goes to your old school, right? So why don't you guys head over there near the end of the school day tomorrow and threaten him? He's a kid and you two are the most powerful people around - even if he's stupid enough to throw a grenade at you, he probably isn't comfortable with being in a real fight. That's the whole point of long-range weapons." the brunette assistant reasoned, glancing between Izaya and Shizuo as she did so.

The informant had to admit, when Namie wanted to be helpful she really could be. Just like Kasuka. Either way, did they really want to go out and confront him head on in so little time after the attack?  _Sooner would probably be better than later.. If we're quiet too long then he might know that we're planning something instead of hiding out and actually keep himself handy. We don't want another psycho with a gun anywhere near us… Yeah, tomorrow or the next day and we should have this handled._

"Namie's right."  _Never thought I'd say that out loud._  "Tomorrow we'll go out to Raira and catch him getting out of the school. We'll threaten him and see what happens; if he doesn't agree to stop all this then.. Well, we can figure something out." Izaya decided, getting a nod from everyone. After that was agreed upon everyone split up, Namie and Shizuo heading home as well as Kasuka and Izaya; Celty and Shinra promised to keep in contact with them just in case they needed help with something.

Izaya reached out and held his boyfriend's hand on the way back to the actor's home, a small smile on his face.  _I guess everything will be semi-normal again by tomorrow.. Can't wait for it._


	94. Movie Night

_ [Kasuka's POV] _

Kasuka let out a small sigh of content as Izaya laid closer to him, the arm around his middle tightening a bit as the informant got comfortable in bed. They were both currently half dressed and under the covers, deciding to relax and watch a movie together since Izaya was spending the night there. They'd only been home for about an hour and had finally picked out a movie they wanted to watch after originally getting ready for bed, just in case they fell asleep half way through or something.

Kasuka was 100 percent awake still but with Izaya wrapped around him and the feeling of fingers slowly running through his hair, he was very sure he never wanted to move again, asleep or otherwise. He rubbed small circles over his lover's bare back in return as the movie started, Izaya had taken off his shirt a while ago so that he could sleep more comfortably later. Kasuka never understood how exactly that made him more comfortable, the other always complained about getting cold too easily and Kasuka always having the air conditioning on when it was unnecessary. The actor would never point this out to him though, not wanting to give him reasons for not showing himself off.

Izaya and Kasuka watched the movie in almost complete silence at first, the first half hour of it being pretty interesting and neither having anything to say. They were completely content with just being near each other for the time being as well, talking unnecessary. After that point though, Kasuka soon grew bored of the plot, seeing as it followed the same pattern as almost any other scary movie out there. He directed his attention to the other instead, much more interested in watching the various expressions going across the informant's face as the movie went on.

Kasuka had learned soon after meeting Izaya that the ravenett had never fully taken the time to relax before they started dating. Before Kasuka came along, apparently Izaya's schedule had been: Wake up, take a shower, maybe eat something, do some work, bug the locals, get back to work, eat some ootoro, go back to work, bug the locals again, maybe eat dinner, take a bath, go to bed. And all of the those things were in a sequence, a very specific sequence that had almost no variation to it and held almost no breaks from it. Sure, Izaya would occasionally take longer on a few days to get back to work because of Shizuo but besides that, it was all a very calculated routine. A routine that held going to the movies as a seasonal, maybe even yearly, event. And because of this, Izaya hadn't yet been made fully aware of or tired out of all the cliches that movies held.

Oh look, the girl thinks she hears something? Izaya heard it too.

She thinks it's a good idea to go down the creepy stairway with only a flashlight and some booty shorts on? Izaya's eyes are glued on the spotlight the flashlight gives without any complaints.

Holy shit, a totally unexpected jump scare made by some gruesome, horrendous, disgusting, obviously very cheaply made 3D-model monster? Izaya was now partially shoved underneath the actor who was originally beside him, the hand that had been running through dark hair now grasping at Kasuka's arm as he peaked over the younger man's shoulder, still wanting to see what was happening on screen even though he was thoroughly freaked out.

And despite being slightly embarrassed at the fact that  _this_ is what could possibly scare his lean, mean boyfriend, Kasuka couldn't help smiling at him in amusement and continuing to comfort him after the initial scare. Kasuka shifted so that he was on his side and took Izaya into his arms, the other on his side too so that it was easier to hide his face if something popped out again. The actor just held onto the other throughout the whole movie like this, also watching it after the action picked up again but still mostly focused on his lover. He just couldn't get tired of watching how his eyes got a little bigger when something suspenseful happened or when the music picked up and the character on screen was still oblivious, or how he would mutter/grumble something about them making a stupid decision before giving a tiny smile to himself in satisfaction when his hunch had been correct. The very best part was when something actually scary happened; Izaya would lean into him or hide his face in his chest or even try to physically back himself away from the TV and into the actor's body, despite how slight his actual movements are.

Everything about Izaya was hypnotizing to him, so he was genuinely disappointed when the movie ended and he couldn't continue to watch the other like he had been. Not that he couldn't keep staring at him, he could stare at him while he did other things as well; Kasuka just liked this certain set of emotions on the other more than what he got at other times. After all, it was so rare to see his boyfriend scared of anything.  _Then again, I don't want him scared all the time. That just wouldn't be Izaya anymore._ Kasuka decided silently, smiling to himself once again as he pressed a kiss to Izaya's forehead and turned off the movie, along with the TV. He felt Izaya jump against him.

"Why'd you turn off the TV?" he asked, voice neutral. Kasuka raised a brow despite knowing the other couldn't see it yet; their eyes were both still adjusting to how dark it suddenly was.

"Because it's 11 at night and we have stuff to do tomorrow." Kasuka reasoned, chuckling a bit at the fact that Izaya might have forgotten their plans already. His boyfriend wasn't a scatterbrain very often either, which just made it seem funny to him. Izaya nodded against him, face now pressed into Kasuka's neck as they once again got comfy. Kasuka closed his eyes as he tightened his hold on Izaya. "Goodnight, Iza-chan. I love you." he muttered, getting a goodnight kiss in return. The actor smiled to himself as he tried to fall asleep.

* * *

It had been almost 2 hours and Kasuka still wasn't asleep.

Why you ask? Because Izaya still wasn't asleep and Kasuka just couldn't find it in himself to sleep peacefully while his boyfriend shuddered in fear on his lonesome.

Ever since Kasuka had told Izaya goodnight and shut his eyes, he could just barely feel his lover shiver against him at random intervals. It had started as a soft, little movement, that had just made Kasuka assume he was cold - just like he knew he'd be - and move the blanket up to cover their shoulders as well, returning to his tight hold on the other now that they were completely warm and toasty. He had gotten a small 'thank you' from the other before once again trying to fall asleep, only to be brought out of his drowsy state by more shivering, harder this time.

Kasuka had opened his eyes and allowed them to get used to the darkness before glancing down at his boyfriend, wondering if maybe he had a fever and thought he was colder than he really was. What he was met with was Izaya with his eyes still half open, biting his lip, with his arms now pressed in front of him and between them as he curled up tighter. Kasuka couldn't even think about how cute Izaya looked at the moment before he was wrapping him up tighter and making him glance up to catch his eyes. "Iza-chan, are you alright?" he asked softly, getting a nod out of the ravenett before he tried to curl up again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't seem to fall asleep right now. Give me a couple more minutes." the informant dismissed, hiding his face again before Kasuka was tilting his chin back up. The actor looked him in the eyes again and stared, not hiding his disbelief.

"It's okay if the movie scared you, ya know. It's a horror film, that's kinda the point." Kasuka reassured, giving a small smile to the other before Izaya rolled his eyes.

"Kasu-kun, I'm not scared. I'm pretty sure I've lived through at least a dozen experiences more frightening than that little- Ah!" Izaya started to explain, cut off by the creak of their bedroom door as it drifted a little ways open. Before Kasuka could realize what had even caused it, Izaya was now fully underneath the covers in front of him, in a perfect ball huddled against Kasuka's midriff. This time, Kasuka took the time to grin and chuckle to himself about Izaya's actions.

"So, you're not scared at all, huh?" Kasuka asked sarcastically, a wide grin on his face until there was a pinch on his side, the pinch being almost a thousand times worse than the usual jabs he'd receive for his comments. He bit his lip to keep from letting out any noise that would let Izaya know he'd won, not wanting this to become the usual repercussion, before he moved Izaya's hand away from him and scooted him back up until Izaya's face was visible from underneath the covers. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to joke around. But really, it's okay to be scared from a scary movie. So why don't you come back up here and give me a kiss so we can both go to sleep, alright? Nothing is going to get you while I'm around."

"There were  **12** people there when the movie started, I'm sure you being here could just be a technicality to that thing.."

"Okay, but ya know what isn't a technicality? This being reality and that movie still being a movie." Kasuka pointed out calmly, smiling a bit at the pout he got in return. "I'll protect you, I promise. Nothing will get near you and if anything does, they'll have to go through me first. Sound like a deal?"

Izaya looked up at him with something close to puppy dog eyes, obviously weighing his options when he glanced at the room around them before looking back at Kasuka. "Okay.. But I get a refund on this deal at any time." Izaya muttered, getting a roll of the eyes from the actor beside him.

"Of course you do. Now just close your eyes and start counting ootoro, I'll be right here."


	95. Dun-Dun-Dunnn!

_ [Izaya's POV] _

The informant and debt collector trudged down the street together at 5 P.M, the next day, ready to face their target.

After a long day of almost total silence between them, the two shoved together in Kasuka's living room because said actor had a meeting to go to that couldn't be rescheduled, they were both more than eager to be out and about in the city, even if they were still within kicking distance.

Shizuo was once again on point, something Izaya restrained himself from pointing out at the moment, and Izaya followed behind him with his hands in his pockets, one holding on tightly to his trusty switch-blade. After months of slowing changing from his old self, followed by weeks of repression from his boss, the informant couldn't quite put into words how good it felt to be out holding it with a purpose again, besides general self-defense. And as they got closer and closer to their old study grounds, the informant almost wished that they kid they were looking for would give him a reason to use it.

It wasn't likely, seeing as the kid didn't sound like the physical type. The brat was barely pushing a D+ in Physical Education, after all. But even if the kid didn't threaten them, Izaya could still threaten him.

The informant still wasn't very happy about being attacked, and finding out that a little kid had gotten to him with such ease was quite the blow to his confidence, but that was also what made him rebound so quickly into action. This kid was just a kid. A smart one, an incredibly smart one possibly - he could do quite a few things that other children wouldn't even consider an option - but he was still just a brat stuck in grade school, waiting to be released into the world. And that made it all the easier to let him know just who was in charge around here.

Shizuo and Izaya were finally at the school gates around 5:30, both of them waiting until it was a couple minutes before the bell was supposed to ring, the two splitting up so that Shizuo could go through the back of the school and wait there, since neither of them knew which route he would take to get home. That wasn't exactly a piece of information you find lying around on a piece of paper, after all.

The two waited and soon the bell rang, Izaya leaning against one of the entrance bracers as teenagers filed passed him, memories of his times back in school coming to him while he looked around for their target.  _Don't distract yourself, you can come back around when there isn't a brat trying to bother you._  he reminded himself, glancing at his phone to see if Shizuo had sent a text about the boy. Nothing yet.  _It didn't say he was in any clubs, so he should be coming out about now. He's either way in the back of the campus or he's caught up somewhere talking. Maybe if we're lucky, the brat will trip down the stairs all by himself. That would at least keep him bed-ridden for a couple days, then we could track what hospital he's in and make sure he can't run while we talk to him._

A slightly pleased grin had come onto Izaya's face as he kept pondering ways for their target to have gotten caught up without them even needing to get involved, slowly getting more drowned in his thoughts until he finally caught sight of a familiar face.  _Chiba Atsushi, the 14 year old anarchist brat. Pleasure to finally see you in person, kid._

The informant waited patiently as the boy got closer to the gate, Izaya sending his accomplice a quick text telling him to come around the other side and meet him there. Once Atsushi was within a couple meters, Izaya popped out and walked up to him, having to hold out a hand and stop him physically when it seemed that the boy was too preoccupied looking at his phone to bother watching out for bystanders. Or, in his case, enemies.

The freshman looked up, blinking it confusion at first before his eyes widened. The kid knew he was trapped, but Izaya had to give him credit for how well he could have hidden to someone who wasn't use to this tactic. "Um.. Hello. Do I know you?" the teen asked politely, sounding honestly lost as he looked at him. Izaya just gave him a smirk, the hand on the kid's shoulder tightening while his other was still currently hidden in his pocket, switch-blade ready to be opened at any point.

"No, I don't think we've met. But I would like to inform you that one of your toys happened to find it's way into my window the other day, and sorry but.. My companion is awful upset about it." the ravenett replied, moving closer to him as he moved to wrap his arm around the boy's shoulders, gripping his other arm instantly once the student was pressed into his side. Just like Izaya had thought, Shizuo had finally made his way to the front gate and was standing in it, watching them with a dark glare on his face. The glare was obviously meant for Izaya, anyone who existed in this area for a day knew that, but it still did manage to scare the poor kid next to him if his sudden fidgeting said anything.

"See? Awful upset, it really is quite the trouble to keep him this calm too. You should be lucky he hasn't blown up yet." Izaya prattled on, smirk just growing on his face more with each step they started to take off the campus, the three of them heading in the opposite direction of their home before taking him around the school edge where they couldn't bee seen as well. Atsushi just went with them the whole time, dead silent as he was led away from possible witnesses. They'd only be witnesses to a pretty bad taunting but hey, how would Atsushi know that? Threats are all in the presentation, after all.

Once they were right where they wanted to be, Shizuo and Izaya standing diagonal to him to keep him in place as they questioned him, the boy finally broke down. His shivering turned into tremors and he looked between them like he was looking at the grim reaper. "L-Look, I didn't mean to hurt anyone okay? I-I just thought that since I could sc-scare you guys, i-it would be fun to do it again! I didn't know that he gave me a different order, I-I wasn't paying attention, I swear. I'll do a-anything to make it up to you!" Atsushi started crying, almost sobbing as he looked between them for forgiveness.

The informant and debt collector both shared a confused look before each taking a step closer, since the kid looked like he was seriously contemplating his odds in a chase. "Shut up." Izaya ordered, finally taking out his switch-blade and opening it for Atsushi to see, the boy now freezing in place and watching it instead of them, just like Izaya had thought. "Now, what the hell are you babbling about?" the informant continued, staring at him calmly as the boy didn't move or speak, still focused on the blade.  _Great, he's a statue._

Izaya paused for only a second before thrusting the blade forward, it coming a couple inches close to Atsushi's neck before the boy opened his mouth, about to let out a scream before Shizuo muffled him. It just came out as whimpers when the student realized that calling out was also not an option. He went back to his tactic of being a shivering wimp. "What the fuck!? You can't just jerk that shit around near a-" Shizuo started.

"This kid made a threat towards us and obviously did something a lot worse. I have every right to 'jerk this shit around' at him." Izaya replied calmly, not smirking anymore. He turned his attention back to their captive. "Now, I'll ask you again. What were you talking about and what did you do?" Shizuo released his hold on Atsushi's mouth so that he could answer properly.

The kid finally looked up at him and met his eyes, silent again before his eyes widened a bit more. "You.. You don't know? I-I thought.."

"Out with it!"

Atsushi jumped, the previous fear on his face melting away into utter guilt. "I-I.. I wanted to scare you again, so when I thought it had been long enough for you to go back home, I left a package at your d-door... I-I didn't make them myself this time, a friend of mine gave me what I asked for but th-they weren't toys. I.. I saw two girls come out of your building with the package before I knew it was dangerous, I swear I-I didn't mean to actually hurt anyone!" the boy admitted quickly, sounding honestly sad and afraid. Though, Izaya couldn't care less about his feelings at the moment. Shizuo glanced at him after the teen explained himself, sharing a look of worry with the informant.

"Who came out with the package, what did they look like?" Izaya demanded, taking the knife away since the kid seemed fully cooperative at this point. Atsushi gulped down his emotions as he glanced into space, obviously trying to remember them.

"Um.. It was two girls, brunettes. I dunno how old they were, maybe in middle school or something, they had uniforms on. One had glasses..." the boy listed off, trailing off at the end as he came up with nothing else. Izaya wasn't listening anymore, fear gripping him.

He turned away from the other two, yanking out his phone and calling someone on his speed-dial, ignoring the questions he heard behind him from Shizuo. The phone continued ringing and went to voice-mail twice before he was too frustrated to simply hold his phone and do nothing else. "Izaya!" Shizuo demanded beside, calling the informant back to earth as the debt collector, for once in their lives, called him by his real name. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Who are you calling?" the blond continued to question, neither of them paying attention to the student who was still slumped against the wall close to them.

The ravenett looked to his temporary bodyguard with wide eyes. "The girls that took that package were Mairu and Kururi.. They're my little sisters."


	96. Get Them Girls

_[Izaya's POV]_

_Please be safe, please be safe…_ Izaya thought to himself silently, running alongside Shizuo as they sped along towards the main streets of Ikebukuro. The informant had already called anyone he knew that might have a clue where they were staying; Simon, Shinra and Celty, Dota-chin, Erika, and even Kasuka just in case he might have caught sight of two girls matching their description. So far no one knew where they were staying or that they were even in this part of the city again.

The informant tried calling them one more time, phone getting to the fourth ring before there was finally an answer. "Erm.. Hello?" Mairu answered, voice soft as she picked up the phone from what Izaya expected was a nap. The casual way she answered made the worried brother relax a little. He held out a hand and grabbed Shizuo's arm, giving a tug as he spoke so they could slow to a stop.

"Mairu, where are you? Are you with Kururi?" he asked, trying his best not to sound panicked. If he did then they would only question him further, rather than answer all of his. Shizuo finally came to a stop with him and they moved to the edge of the sidewalk, the blond casting a glare at anyone who dared stare at them for too long.

"Kururi's in the bathroom, sorry. And we're in a hotel, duh! How did you know we were in town?" his little sister asked, the smile evident even through the phone receiver. Izaya came up with a half-lie.

"My neighbor said I got a package but someone took it away again. When she mentioned how you looked it couldn't have been anyone else." the informant fibbed, getting a look from his companion at the answer. Izaya just gave him a shrug and the blond went back to tapping his heel in impatience. "Anyways, you guys still have that package right? I kinda need it. Really, really need it actually." the ravenett went on, not bothering to ask if they'd opened it yet. If there had been any type of explosion then they wouldn't have been able to answer the phone, that of they would have questioned him about it themselves.

There was a pause on the other end of the line and Izaya worried that she was trying to open it. "Yeah, it's still here. Sorry bro, I'm kinda tired right now. We got a hotel room to ourselves this time and the TV they have at midnight is pretty good here~ Not a lot of porn, but they have cool movies." Mairu prattled on, for the first time in ages forcing a blush across the informant's face.  _So she still hasn't learned to keep her mouth shut. Great… I guess I'm proud she's growing up, though? Maybe? No, this is still weird.._

"Okay, uh… Glad you like it then. What hotel are you staying in?" Izaya asked, glaring back at Shizuo when he seemed to be getting even more impatient than the ravenett was. Izaya even flipped him off when Shizuo tried to take his phone away, turning away from the blond as he got instructions to where they were staying. "Great, thanks. I'll be right over to pick it up." he replied, just about to hang up when he heard her shout-talking again. "What was that?"

"Why do you need it so bad? Did you buy a sex-toy or something?" Mairu asked, shameless as ever. Izaya face-palmed before he could just hear a door open in the background followed by a sigh.  _At least Kururi's there to lecture her for me._

"No, Mairu, it's nothing like that. It's.. stuff for work. I needed a couple new batteries for my laptops." Izaya continued to lie, frowning at himself before he got a bored sigh and confirmation that they'd be waiting for him.  _Let's hope she really bought that.._

"Cya there, sis." he said in farewell, finally hanging up before calling a cab, thinking it would be much more helpful to them than trying to find out where their certain hotel was on their own.

"So? Are they alright? What the hell was that conversation about?" Shizuo demanded, speaking again now that it wouldn't be considered rude.  _I guess he does have some manners. Kasuka must have trained his dog well when little._ Izaya grinned to himself at the thought and climbed into a cab with Shizuo right beside him, telling their driver the name of where they needed to go while ignoring the horrified look he gave at the two of them together, even worse crammed into a backseat side-by-side.

"Yeah, they're just fine. But we still need to hurry. Knowing them, no matter what I said, they would try to open my stuff just to tick me off. And the conversation was me trying to think of every way for me to not freak them out. Kururi can handle pressure and bad situations just fine, but Mairu... She isn't known for her emotional control or delicacy." the informant explained, glancing out the window and fingering the switch-blade in his pocket nervously. There were currently a multitude of cars in the street around them as their cab hurried along to it's destination, the driver probably not wanting his cab ripped in two by Shizuo, and Izaya thought that this was the only time that he wished there weren't so many people in this big city of theirs. If there were less, after all, that would mean a lot less trouble for them on the way there and considerably less traffic.

There was a tap on his shoulder and he looked over to see a surprisingly civil blond staring at him from behind his shades. "What?"

"Your sisters are gonna be fine." Shizuo said suddenly, making the informant stare at him in disbelief as a response, waiting patiently for him to explain himself. The debt collector seemed a little more irritated at his silence than anything, but continued. "You look like you actually give a damn about them, flea. If you manage to care about anyone then it would have to be someone else just as..." Shizuo paused, obviously looking for the right word - also the word that could actually sound like a positive, " _clev... caut... knowl..._  Uggh! Just as fucking annoying and self-preservent as you are." the blond finally got out, looking like he was about to gag after almost giving the other a compliment.

The informant didn't know what to say at first, just giving him a thankful nod before looking ahead of them, calming down once they were in sight of the hotel. Just as they were about to step out, Izaya smirked. "As annoying as you think I am, Shizu-chan, you wanted to give me a compliment~ I shall take all of the original three in exchange for your lack of general vocabulary~" he announced, hopping onto the sidewalk and trotting into the hotel before Shizuo could squeeze his way out of the cab.

"I-za-ya-kuuun!"


	97. Iza-nii!

_[Izaya's POV]_

The two stood side by side in the elevator with no problems after Shizuo settled himself down from the taunting in the cab. Settling down being; he had picked up the informant by his shirt and shook him around a little. Izaya had just laughed his head off, of course, and announced that if he got a scratch, Kasuka would be by his side for the next week caring for him, effectively making Shizuo drop him to the ground ungraciously to prevent Kasuka from spending any more time with the 'flea' than necessary.

The ride up to Mairu and Kururi's floor was uneventful and almost surreal as Izaya and Shizuo got closer to his siblings, the informant's hands now occupying themselves in his pockets again now that he didn't have an angry debt collector to distract him.

_What if they already opened the package just before the taxi got here? Or if they open it right when we're walking in the door? They could die, I could die, if mom is here then she could die… If we don't die, then we'd probably be severely hurt.. I don't even have an idea of how many grenades would be in that package! There could be one of them or fucking ten, for all we know… Why didn't I ask the brat before we ran off?_ he thought and rambled and asked to himself, irritation growing at the fact that this elevator was  **so slow** that he could contemplate life in it. He tried to take a deep breath as they finally were just a couple floors down from his sisters.  _We ran off because we thought they were hurt. The amount of damage didn't matter at the moment…_  the informant continued to reason, even though the answer to his question didn't exactly help him at the moment. The pit in his stomach filled a little bit when the ding of the elevator finally came and the doors opened, allowing him to run down the hallway towards his sister's door without restraint. He was there within a minute - well, he expected he was; the informant nearly forgot what room number they were in - and began knocking on the door.

He didn't even have to knock twice before one little girl opened the door, allowing another little fireball to throw herself out the door and onto his midsection. Izaya fell backwards without much of a fight. When he opened his ruby eyes again, there were now two girls with him, one with glasses who had her arms wrapped around him on the floor, and the other standing above him with a slightly sorry smile before she dropped onto her knees and then onto them, effectively turning their reunion into a dog pile.

Izaya could care less by now if the blond was watching him; the informant threw his arms around the both of them and rolled them into a sitting position, pulling them both into his lap despite how much larger they were now after the few years apart.  _They're safe… They're both okay._  he reassured himself, grip tightening on them both for a moment before Mairu spoke up.

"Bro, you're being weird. Like, weirder than we're used to." the spectacled twin announced, grin on her face.

Kururi nodded, crossing her arms across her chest. "Meriod.." she noted aloud, making Izaya ruffle her hair. He tried to pout or frown at them for the comments but just couldn't find it in himself at the moment to be upset. Their teasing just let him know further that they were in perfect health.

"I just missed you, you idiots. I  **can** act like a good big brother every once in a while, ya know." the informant laughed, deciding to not let them know how worried he'd been for their safety. Back to the original reason they'd come, Izaya glanced back at Shizuo who was standing about a foot away, face neutral except for the small twitch his eye had caught.  _Suck it, protozoan. I can be a sweet big brother too~_  he thought, smile turning into a slight smirk before it went away completely.

The informant glanced into the hotel room beside them to see the corner of a box poking out from one of the dressers, seemingly undisturbed. "Shizu-chan, the package." Izaya muttered, not demanding him to do anything but still getting the desired result as Shizuo worked passed them - a hard feat, seeing as they were almost completely blocking the entrance - before going inside to grab the box, picking it up carefully and coming back to move around them again. Once again, Izaya had to - grudgingly - give him credit for how well he handled literally carrying a bomb.  _We need to get those away from people, us included.. There's no place for us to just drop it off though._

Izaya's attention was taken away by his sisters before he could decide whether or not to order the brute away with it. "Iza-nii, who's this? Did you finally make a friend besides glasses guy!?" Mairu shouted, the comment making both the informant and debt collector tense where they were. Kururi seemed to notice their sudden discomfort but didn't let up. "Friend.. Best friend?" the more shy of the two prompted, looking away from her older brother to the 'stranger' close-by.

_Of course they would just assume we're close..._  he mentally grumbled, a strained smile making its way onto his face before he thought of a reply. "No, no. Shinra is still my best friend, no competition. This is just Shizu-chan, my butler." the informant announced, looking behind him at the blond and having to physically hold in laughter as he saw the debt collector turn murderous once more. It was a miracle that the box in his hands wasn't instantly crushed. Even though he was still laughing, Izaya noticed his mistake.  _Guess I should have saved that one for a better time... Still, totally worth it._

Mairu and Kururi looked at each other before both smiling at Izaya, seeming to buy it or at least not question it. "That would explain his clothes then." Mairu responded, her sister nodding beside her.

"Fancy suit.."

"Wait! If he's your butler, then can he make ōtoro all by himself!?"

"Iza-nii's fave."

"And does he, like, do your laundry and stuff? And make you breakfast? Do you have a maid too!? Is she pretty!?"

Izaya couldn't keep a straight face as the two just kept going along with his lie, the debt collector behind him slowly getting more and more irritated though it didn't seem to be at the girls. The blond was patiently glaring at the back of Izaya's head, probably waiting for him to correct himself and his sister's before he was a dead man.  _I guess I can give him a break, he's carrying delicate cargo._  the informant reasoned, composing himself enough to tap Mairu's cheek, quickly making her stop talking.

"I was just kidding, nee-chan. He's not my friend but he also doesn't work for me, sorry about that." Izaya explained, watching as both of them, mostly Mairu, seemed to deflate a little at the news. Kururi frowned lightly as she watched Shizuo from where she was.

"Not a butler?" she muttered, almost hopeful. Izaya watched as Shizuo's anger seemed to disappear, the blond glancing away from her.

"Nope, not a butler..."

"A secret agent?"

"No, not that either. Sorry, kid."

Kururi made a hum of acknowledgement before looking to Izaya again, still upset. Izaya frowned, glancing at his nemesis before looking to his little sister again. Mairu was giving him a death glare for not speaking up yet anyways. "But, uh, he is a body guard. That's kinda cool, right?" the informant offered, not knowing if it would help much. Kururi looked up again quickly and nodded, smile back on her face. She looked like she wanted to talk to Shizuo some more but Mairu stopped her, getting their attention again.

"Okay, so, you have your computer stuff back and your body guard is taking them home probably. Now that that's settled, I demand that you spend time with us!" the out-spoken twin demanded, Kururi nodding her support as Izaya glanced at the package in Shizuo's hands.

"I'd love to, guys, but I really have to-"

"Your computers can wait, Iza-nii!"

"Visiting for one week.."

"Yeah, and that one week is gonna be nothin' but us and you! Got it?"

Mairu and Kururi stared the informant down from their place in his lap, both expressions serious now as they watched him. Knowing them, neither of them were going to back down from their request either unless he gave in or they got a thorough explanation.  _Shiki is going to kill me.. Quite literally kill me, and probably do something worse, but I haven't seen them in forever... And Kasuka is probably worried sick by now because I haven't texted him that the other kid is handled, which he technically isn't.._  Izaya held in a sigh as he felt a small headache coming on from his awful luck. _It's only 6:30, I can spare a few hours with them before working into the morning. That'll do just fine._

The ravenett looked over at his enemy and Shizuo glanced between him and his sister's before sighing, glaring at the package in his hands. "Yeah, I'll.. get this home for you. I guess. I'll let Shinra and the rest know what you're up to, too.. Uh... Bye." Shizuo announced awkwardly, turning away and heading down the hall towards the elevator again as Izaya finally stood up, taking his sisters with him before they shifted and began dragging him into their hotel room.  _Why is my life so fucked up?_


	98. Make A Call

_ [Izaya's POV] _

Izaya sat on the bed behind his sisters, one of them on each side of him to block an escape, while they played a game or two and he volunteered to be referee. He'd already been with them for about half an hour now and they were still asking him continuous questions: 'Have you found anyone yet?', 'Are you really not friends with Shizu-chan?', 'Why are you still wearing the same jacket you had, like, three years ago?', and most of all 'Can you stop staring at your freakin' phone, Iza-nii?'.

He couldn't really help that the answer was 'no' to that last one. He was just nervous. It had been almost exactly 30 minutes since he'd texted Kasuka that he was alive and well, currently away from danger and the boy who had presented it and all that. He'd sent it half an hour ago and gotten no reply because Kasuka was currently in a meeting for some job opportunity that his manager had said was 'too good to pass up', but that also didn't make the informant any less fidgety. Izaya knew his boyfriend well by now; when he did get the message and got around to reading it, he would instantly ask a whole bunch of questions about what had happened, where he is now, what he's up to - no, his boyfriend is not a stalker, he's just genuinely worried about him.

And in that string of questions, if he lets something slip about being with family then he'll ask about them, if he can meet them - well, maybe, they hadn't really talked about 'meeting the family' much, since Izaya and Shizuo have known each other for years already; the hardest part was already over in that aspect - and he might even ask about why he's there with them so long when he has work to do (if he happens to be so curious). Telling him the honest answer of 'I was worried for their lives' wouldn't be the best route to go, obviously, even if he'd been finding it harder and harder to lie or avoid his boyfriend's questions as their time together went on. _How could anyone calmly tell their boyfriend, 'hey, yeah Im fine, I just saved my baby sisters from being blown up by a variable of grenades, thats all - no biggie!'?_ The simple answer is: you can't. But, he was going to try if it came to that, for the sake of telling his partner the truth.

Then the second part of that, if Shizuo doesn't contact Kasuka before Izaya can, would be telling Kasuka that he'd just let his dear brother walk away with no help, holding fucking grenades!

Again, not the easiest thing to tell someone, especially your boyfriend...  _It's not like I was really thinking about Shizu-chan's well-being though. I've never had to before and I would much rather let him blow up than let me sisters take the brunt of it... Maybe I should call Shinra to see if the idiot made it there safely._ Izaya thought to himself, changing his gaze from being blankly locked onto the screen in front of them towards his sisters. Due to them switching games without him noticing, they were now sharing a handheld while watching mostly cut-scenes, instead of trying to kill each other or run each other over in Mario Kart.

The informant glanced between them before shifting his legs away from them, trying to be stealthy about it at first before he was caught anyway. Mairu turned his head to look at him with a pout as he dove away now, the girl having hopped towards him to try and stop him from leaving. "Iza-nii, you promised-!" the twin started, Izaya stopping her by holding up both his hands in mock-surrender.

"I know, I promised. I'm just gonna go in the hall for a second and call Shinra. If I don't come back in ten minutes, at the most, then I give you full permission to head-butt me in the stomach when you find me." the ravenett announced, hands still up as he locked eyes with his sister, a small staring-contest beginning between them. All was silent for a few moments before his phone let out a small beep, the device calling for his attention and effectively making Mairu just from the sudden break of silence, blinking and losing the contest.

Mairu pouted and moved her glasses up her nose a little before turning back to Kururi. "Fine.. But I'm counting by the second, so you better be careful or else you'll be getting a head-butt from the both of us." she announced, the short-haired twin beside her nodding confirmation to the deal as Izaya shuffled out of the room.

"Alright, I got it. Be right back." he dismissed, stepping into the hall and shutting the door behind him, knowing he would have to knock for them to let him in again but not really caring. He took out his cellphone and checked it, seeing that the beep was just from his phone getting down to half-battery, before he dialed in Shinra's number, worrying his bottom lip as the phone went ignored the first time around.

He didn't even get a chance to click redial before his phone was ringing though, Shinra getting back to him at amazing speed. "Izaya, please tell you didn't really send Shizuo all the way here carrying an  **active grenade**." Shinra began, not even bothering to say hello as the informant answered the call. Izaya could tell just from his tone of voice that Shinra was a little bit panicked, maybe even a bit upset. Despite the doctor not being able to see it, he bent his head a little in shame.

"Well.. I didn't  **not** send him over there with one." was the informant's only response, being met with, as expected, exasperated silence. There was a small sigh that followed it a moment after and Izaya stopped himself from worrying his lip more as he spoke first. "Look, I'm sorry that I sent him over there. Well, I didn't send him over there exactly, he just decided to go to your place.. But, I should have at least gone with him to handle it. My bad." Izaya admitted slowly, the phone giving him silence again as Izaya imagined the look on Shinra's face. It was pretty rare that the ravenett apologized to his doctor-friend for.. pretty much anything, so he could just imagine the doctor either smiling, staring at the phone in confusion, or glaring at it instead like he'd just said a bad joke. Knowing Shinra, it was probably the first option, but hey - they usually didn't have the stress of a bomb hanging over them, so ya never know.

"Okay..."  _Maybe it was the second option._  "Thank you for the apology. But, moving on, we still have something very dangerous just  **sitting in my apartment.**  I would appreciate it if we could find somewhere else to put it or to let it go off in. Preferably now or very, very soon!" Shinra finally insisted, the stress back in his voice. He didn't sound quite as mad or upset anymore though, which took a weight off Izaya's shoulders for a second.

When the ravenett glanced back at the hotel door, checking to see if Mairu was coming to headbutt him or not, the weight came back. "I would love to help you as quickly as possible Shinra, but I'm with family at the moment. I know, this isn't really the time, but..." the informant trailed off suddenly, not knowing what to say to the other. He could just come out and say that he wanted to protect his family at the moment, that he'd almost had a heart attack the minute he found out they were anywhere near it, let alone had it in their own possession, just a slip-up away from hurting them or massacring them. Then again, he could just choose to say nothing, like usual, and let Shinra have that bit of perspective run off to him somehow, once again letting him magically know what the problem was.

That magical, much appreciate second option that he'd come to love came through for him once again when Shinra began speaking. "I understand. Tell your mom I said hi, and tell Kururi that it's still her job to take care of Mairu. She can't slack off just because there's a family doctor around." the brunet announced, shuffling heard on the other side. He assumed that Shinra was getting ready to hang up, moving around his apartment while avoiding the grenade most likely put in the center of the waiting room while they wondered what to do.

The informant found himself nodding to the other despite knowing that he couldn't see him or return the act. "I will. If she can't take care of her, then I'm still here either way... For now, just tell Shizu-chan to go check on that brat from earlier, we didn't scare him as much as we could have. Us running off to find the twins might even make him reconsider changing his ways. And I just have to keep hanging out for another... 2 hours, 3 tops. As soon as they let me go I'll be back home looking for a place to drop it off. Just don't touch the box too much, especially the top of it, and you should make it by just fine." Izaya babbled on, finally sharing a farewell with the doctor before hanging up, closing his phone only to open it again when there was another beep, this time alerting him to a message from Kasuka.

_Of course he would text me now.. I'll answer him when I'm not in danger of stomach destruction._ Izaya mentally sighed, pocketing his cellphone again as he knocked on the hotel door, waiting patiently to be dragged back inside by the two most loving demon-spawns he'd ever met.


End file.
